So today's I was in this very interesting Scientific Seminar for Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. A lot of information and knowledge being disseminated left, right and centre. I need a shot of something nice actually, am saturated!
So we had this very interesting presentation on safe abortions. Well, before you all start throwing words and personal opinions at me, the Constitution of Kenya has a clause for this. Medics are allowed to perform this in the situation where the life of the mother and/or the baby is at risk. I won't go into the legal mumble jumble of it all plus the debate of when life starts because this we can discuss until the cows come back to "roost"...they already did, too late in the day!
Let me bring this situation home. Abortions are carried out in this country, all over the world, every minute. Every 8 minutes, a woman dies to an unsafe abortion, that is the sad story. UNSAFE ABORTION! Quacks out there, even some medical people are doing very shoddy things out there because this issue is shrouded in shame, darkness and controversy. In my institution, we attend to mothers who come in bleeding, and I mean really BLEEDING and most from a "quack" who started something they can not finish. Do we lose some? Of course we do. Some end up with such horrible infections that leave them scarred for life, as in literally, BARREN. Some come with their intestines coming out from the vagina, I don't even want to discuss that now!
So today, the woman has rights. Right to seek and get treatment. Of course when she comes in bleeding, as a doctor and as a gynaecologist, I do what needs to be done, I empty the uterus and voila, the bleeding stops, the unborn life is gone but I get to save the woman, never mind the blood transfusions, the antibiotics, the drama that precedes this. But she gets to live another day and decide when to conceive and she also goes home with a healthy uterus. it was clean, it was safe, she chose and she lived. Lived to plan and carry another pregnancy to term when she is ready for it.
I am a woman, women can be very adamant. If a woman decides that she doesn't want to carry her pregnancy and wants a termination, she will do it, by whatever means necessary. So in reality, when she walks to my office and declares the forbidden words, I don't want it...what do I do? If I say no, she will walk to the next dark, shoddy and inexperienced "practitioner" who will definitely do something, anything.....then things will go wrong she will come back to me to fix the mess......an ugly mess, sometimes a mess which will not be reversible and may lead to a loss. If I offer her the service, that is safe and under professional care the law would be on my ass plus unless I prove that it was a health risk to her...Damned if I do, Damned if I don't!
So ladies, (and GENTLEMEN) if you know you are having unprotected sex, (and please this would be suicidal if you're not married/in a long term relationship with one partner who is HIV negative) save us and yourselves this situation, USE PROTECTION, WEAR A CONDOM or USE A LONG TERM CONTRACEPTION, otherwise, Man up, and woman up and deal with the consequences of your actions!
Some medics kill the unborn babies, making the womb a tomb, yet others kill the mothers by doing nothing ! Catch 22? No, me thinks, catch 2222!
So we had this very interesting presentation on safe abortions. Well, before you all start throwing words and personal opinions at me, the Constitution of Kenya has a clause for this. Medics are allowed to perform this in the situation where the life of the mother and/or the baby is at risk. I won't go into the legal mumble jumble of it all plus the debate of when life starts because this we can discuss until the cows come back to "roost"...they already did, too late in the day!
Let me bring this situation home. Abortions are carried out in this country, all over the world, every minute. Every 8 minutes, a woman dies to an unsafe abortion, that is the sad story. UNSAFE ABORTION! Quacks out there, even some medical people are doing very shoddy things out there because this issue is shrouded in shame, darkness and controversy. In my institution, we attend to mothers who come in bleeding, and I mean really BLEEDING and most from a "quack" who started something they can not finish. Do we lose some? Of course we do. Some end up with such horrible infections that leave them scarred for life, as in literally, BARREN. Some come with their intestines coming out from the vagina, I don't even want to discuss that now!
So today, the woman has rights. Right to seek and get treatment. Of course when she comes in bleeding, as a doctor and as a gynaecologist, I do what needs to be done, I empty the uterus and voila, the bleeding stops, the unborn life is gone but I get to save the woman, never mind the blood transfusions, the antibiotics, the drama that precedes this. But she gets to live another day and decide when to conceive and she also goes home with a healthy uterus. it was clean, it was safe, she chose and she lived. Lived to plan and carry another pregnancy to term when she is ready for it.
I am a woman, women can be very adamant. If a woman decides that she doesn't want to carry her pregnancy and wants a termination, she will do it, by whatever means necessary. So in reality, when she walks to my office and declares the forbidden words, I don't want it...what do I do? If I say no, she will walk to the next dark, shoddy and inexperienced "practitioner" who will definitely do something, anything.....then things will go wrong she will come back to me to fix the mess......an ugly mess, sometimes a mess which will not be reversible and may lead to a loss. If I offer her the service, that is safe and under professional care the law would be on my ass plus unless I prove that it was a health risk to her...Damned if I do, Damned if I don't!
So ladies, (and GENTLEMEN) if you know you are having unprotected sex, (and please this would be suicidal if you're not married/in a long term relationship with one partner who is HIV negative) save us and yourselves this situation, USE PROTECTION, WEAR A CONDOM or USE A LONG TERM CONTRACEPTION, otherwise, Man up, and woman up and deal with the consequences of your actions!
Some medics kill the unborn babies, making the womb a tomb, yet others kill the mothers by doing nothing ! Catch 22? No, me thinks, catch 2222!
