'Preggophiles' On Facebook Are Preying On Baby Bump Shots Of Unsuspecting Mothers-To-Be
There are over 100 such Facebook groups in Malaysia that are filled with "preggophile" members with a fetish for pregnant women.
By Sadho Ram — 25 Jan 2018, 02:41 PM
Pregnancy photos of Malaysian mothers-to-be showing their baby bumps are being preyed on by "preggophiles" on Facebook
According to a report in Harian Metro, photos of pregnant women from their personal accounts are being stolen and distributed among creeps on social media.
These people are going all over Facebook, collecting and sharing such photos among themselves to satisfy their sexual "cravings".
The report said that there are over 100 such Facebook groups in Malaysia that are filled with "preggophile" members with a fetish for pregnant women.
These people have also created groups on Telegram and WhatsApp, where they share baby bump shots of pregnant women and leave disturbing comments.
"Preggophiles" are people who find pregnant women sexually stimulating. Also known as maiesiophilia, it is a pregnancy fetishism, where affected individuals harbour a fetish for pregnant women.
According to Malaysian Psychiatric Association president Dr Ahmad Rostam Md Zin, maiesiophilia is an abnormal sexual fetish, considered to be a mental illness.
However, unlike paedophilia, those who suffer from maiesiophilia think nothing of it nor choose to seek treatment for the disorder.
While an abnormal sexual fetish much like paedophilia and zoophilia, it is hard to identify individuals who are maiesiophiliacs
Given the obscurity maiesiophilia sufferers enjoy, Dr Ahmad Rostam advises that pregnant women be cautious in public areas and always be alert to their surroundings.
He also advised women to be careful while sharing their photos on social media, as there is no way of knowing who in your friend list on Facebook may be suffering from strange sexual addictions and lurking behind their computer screens.
Maiesiophiliacs are driven by lust and don't care about your privacy
While a rare affliction, technology advancements have allowed this fetish to grow and these individuals to come together to share their sexual fetish.
"They are more likely to commit crimes when they cannot control their urges as what usually happens with paedophiles," according to Dr. Ahmad Rostam.
One of the victims found out the hard way when a photo she had uploaded on her Facebook profile was stolen by an irresponsible individual who later shared it on one of the Facebook groups
"The picture was uploaded when I was pregnant with my eldest son. There was not a single worry when I shared it on Facebook as I was wearing proper clothes without exposing any part of my body," Harian Metro quoted her as saying.
However, soon after she received a message from a sick man who expressed how horny he felt seeing the photo of her baby bump.
"A week later my friend alerted me that my photo was being shared with other groups and when I read the comments, I felt so disgusted," she added.
After reading the comments, she asked the administrator of the group to take down her photo and lodged a police report
However, the administrator refused to delete the photo and instead blamed the mother of two for uploading the image to Facebook.
"Two days later, the page was blocked by Facebook, but until today I am traumatised and do not want to upload any more pictures on Facebook," she said.
If you suspect that your photos are being misused online, please lodge a report with the relevant authorities. Additionally, you can spread awareness about this sexual fetish by sharing this story.