Today, Uncle Doctor has stories about unplanned pregnancies in various cases to share. While reading, Uncle Doctor would like to ask whether we can prevent pregnancy after having sex and whether we can know about the pregnancy sooner and consult sooner. You should know and ought to know, my dear.
The first case is a teenager with her mother and grandmother consulting at a teen clinic in a state hospital. It is a sad story that she is pregnant with her uncle, her father’s younger brother, and the adults want her to continue her studies. The ultrasound results showed that she was 21 weeks pregnant. The teenager’s desire is that she loves her child and does not want to terminate the pregnancy. The atmosphere in the teen clinic that day was that all three women from three generations were crying in sorrow.
At another state hospital, there was a 14-year-old teenager pregnant with a boy two years younger. She felt that she was a lesbian and could not raise the baby. Unfortunately, she consulted very late because she was already 30 weeks pregnant and had to continue the pregnancy.
At one clinic, a teenage girl consulted a doctor because she could not continue the pregnancy. After examination, she was 21 weeks pregnant. The doctor could not help because the pregnancy was too advanced.
These facts reflect that teenagers often consult too late when the pregnancy is already advanced, making it likely that help to terminate the pregnancy will be denied. Therefore, they have to continue the pregnancy even though they are not ready to raise the child with quality.
Consulting through agencies that provide counseling, such as the unplanned pregnancy hotline 1663, or directly seeing a doctor or nurse at a teen clinic as soon as the period is missed for 1-2 weeks, is crucial. It is very important and affects one’s bright future because it provides options whether to terminate or continue the pregnancy, not closing the door or finding that the way out is a dead end. We must be brave to make the right decision at the right time, my dear.
Uncle Doctor has an example of a very advanced pregnancy, contrary to the teenager’s expectations of how it happened?
On January 13th, a 21-year-old woman studying public health came alone.
“I want to check how far along my pregnancy is because I can’t remember my last period,” she said. Her menstrual history was quite confusing. She had bleeding since November last year, every other day, with a small amount of brown color, using one sanitary pad a day throughout that month. In December, her period was absent.
Uncle Doctor: “And was there a period in October?”
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She thought it over: “It was around mid-month, lasting 5 days, normal flow, using 2-3 pads a day.”
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Uncle Doctor asked more about her period. She said: “In September and August, it was mid-month for 5 days as well, but in September, the blood was sometimes red but mostly brown. From late September to October, she had stomach burning, nausea, and vomiting all day, more at night. She went to the emergency room three times and was diagnosed with gastritis, received medication for gastritis and nausea, and had a urine pregnancy test once in October, which was negative, but no ultrasound was done.”
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By late November, the nausea and vomiting subsided, but she felt tired and fatigued, urinated frequently, her breasts enlarged and were tender, and her nipples darkened. She thought she couldn’t be pregnant since she had already tested. So, in December, she didn’t test her urine for pregnancy. She recalled that her lower abdomen had been growing since late November and felt uncomfortable by December. A few days before seeing Uncle Doctor, she felt something moving in her stomach, which alarmed her. She bought a urine test, and the result was two lines, indicating pregnancy.
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Regarding prevention, she said her boyfriend bought condoms and used them about 80% of the time during sex. If there were no condoms, they used the withdrawal method. She never took emergency contraception. Uncle Doctor said it might have failed due to the withdrawal method. An ultrasound measured the fetal head at 47 mm, equivalent to 21 weeks of pregnancy, with a due date in May this year. She was shocked because she thought she was only two months pregnant since her period had just been missed in December. Uncle Doctor said the last period was around August 20, 2015, and there was a misunderstanding about her menstrual history. She should have been two months pregnant in October, three months in November, and four months in December.
From this case, Uncle Doctor wants to warn teenagers:
Be cautious about normal and abnormal menstrual characteristics and pregnancy symptoms like this teenager experienced until the baby moves. Be aware and see a doctor again. Don’t be afraid, shy, or complacent, leading to being unaware. However, when she told her boyfriend and talked to his mother, his mother was happy to have a grandchild. She will tell her own parents and ask her teacher to let her study until graduation in July this year, even though she will have to give birth before graduating. She said, “I am ready to accept the truth and face everything that will happen.”
Uncle Doctor truly admires her strength and determination.
What was learned and misunderstood was the understanding of normal menstruation and implantation bleeding from the blastocyst. Urine testing from missed periods, along with various pregnancy symptoms that change as the pregnancy progresses, should be observed to avoid mistakes, my dear.
With love and care,
Dr. Ruangkit Sirikanchanakul, RSA Network Coordinator
Source: www.lovecarestation.com