Is Baby Farm on Netflix based on a true story?

The series tells a dark story surrounding Rita Dominic's character Adanna, who finds herself held prisoner by a high-profile organisation after she falls pregnant.

But, with more and more viewers coming to the series, many are wondering whether it has any basis in real life, or whether it is telling a purely fictional story.

Read on for everything you need to know about the inspiration for Netflix drama Baby Farm.

What is Baby Farm about?

The official synopsis for Baby Farm on Netflix says: "A young pregnant woman accepts help from a high-profile organisation offering support - and becomes a prisoner in their sinister plot."

The central character, Adanna, is played by Rita Dominic, while the cast also includes Joseph Benjamin, Onyinye Odokoro, Genoveva Umeh, Langley Kirkwood and Jenny Stead.

The organisation in the series is run by British philanthropists, an expatriate couple living in the Nigerian capital who are actually exploiting vulnerable women for profit.

Is Baby Farm based on a true story?

The specific story told in Baby Farm is fictional, with no truth believed to behind the specific events shown, and the characters not being based on real people.

However, the concept of the titular baby farm has been inspired by a disturbing real-life occurrence.

Mo Abudu, the boss of EbonyLife, the company behind the series, told Deadline: "Bringing Baby Farm to life has been an intense and deeply important journey.

"This series is more than just a thriller – it’s a powerful story rooted in real-life issues told through the lense of bold, cinematic African storytelling.

"With breathtaking visuals, a gripping narrative and an outstanding cast and crew, Baby Farm will keep audiences on the edge of their seats while sparking vital conversations. We can’t wait for the world to experience it."

Meanwhile, supervising producer Heidi Ulys said: "Over the years at EbonyLife Films and EbonyLife Studios, we’ve told many stories, but Baby Farm is our darkest yet.

"It’s a gripping, cinematic journey into a world few dare to explore. Yet, within the shadows, there is light – because storytelling has the power to reveal, to challenge, and to inspire change.

"With an incredible cast and crew, we’ve crafted a series that will leave audiences breathless and thinking long after the credits role."

Over the years, there have been multiple reports of so-called "baby factories" across Nigeria being raided. Like in the series, stories have been reported of unmarried pregnant women being promised healthcare, only for their children to be taken away.

The BBC has reported that, in other cases, women have been raped and made pregnant, and the babies have subsequently been sold for adoption, used for child labour, trafficked to Europe for prostitution or killed for ritual purposes.

In 2020, Tsitsi Matekaire, the global lead on sex trafficking at Equality Now, told The Independent of so-called baby factories: "As far back as 2006, UNESCO reported the first cases.

"This phenomenon is prevalent in many parts of Nigeria and has been previously reported in the states of Abia, Lagos and Ebonyi.

"The 'baby factories' are often disguised as orphanages, maternity homes or religious centres, and involve large networks of operators. There is no doubt that this is a form of sexual exploitation and abuse.

"The victims are extremely vulnerable women and girls, who are trafficked or coerced to these places. They are held against their will, raped, forced to carry pregnancies and then have their babies sold to profit their exploiters."

Baby Farm is available to stream on Netflix now. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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