In a few days, it will be the end of December 2016, but news about pregnant women who can’t find a good way out is still prevalent. It seems it should be the responsibility of the government, private sector, and community to help close the gaps and pitfalls of beliefs, providing assistance from the start rather than remaining indifferent, condemning, or being prejudiced. This would be better for these people to have a good quality of life by understanding their way of life and correcting each stage of their mistakes with compassion and kindness.
Uncle Doctor would like to start with the news and continue to tell the story of teenagers.
On November 22, 2016, in Bangkok, a 17-year-old teenage mother threw her 18-day-old baby into a bathtub, resulting in the baby’s death. She claimed she was angry because the baby was crying loudly. Uncle Doctor views that she was not ready to be a mother and might have experienced severe postpartum stress. Consulting about problems from the start of pregnancy should not force continuation of the pregnancy or deny abortion services.
On the same day in Kamalasai District, Kalasin Province, a 23-year-old mother who had just given birth claimed to the police that someone stole her baby, but in reality, she abandoned the baby behind the hospital. She said she had family problems, and her husband did not want a child, leading to this thought.
On November 27, in Udon Thani Province, a 30-year-old woman was pregnant and did not tell anyone. She was in a relationship with a man who did not accept the pregnancy. Later, she gave birth alone in her room, and it turned out to be twins. She lost a lot of blood, and no one knew until a friend found the babies crying, but she had already died.
On December 3, in Udon Thani Province, a newborn’s body was found with bruises and several sunken areas on the head. The neck was cut with a sharp object, severing the trachea. The baby was 8-9 months gestation. Later, on December 9, the police arrested a 16-year-old girl who was working. She was pregnant but did not tell her boyfriend or parents, so she continued the pregnancy. She said she had severe abdominal pain, thinking it was a bowel movement, and suddenly gave birth, with the baby’s head hitting the toilet. The baby was motionless. She thought if the baby wasn’t dead, it would be disabled because she drank alcohol throughout the pregnancy and didn’t want it to be a burden, so she cut the baby’s throat with a knife to ensure it was dead and disposed of it.
On December 6, in Bang Pa-in, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province, a charred baby corpse was found wrapped in foil and burned to a crisp near the roadside grass. Burnt blood-stained underwear was also found. It is believed that a young woman gave birth to a stillborn or had an abortion before burning the body.
On December 8, in Sanam Chai, Chanthaburi Province, a 7-8 month gestation baby corpse was found dug up and gnawed by animals. A shovel was found nearby, suggesting the mother might have been unintentionally pregnant and unable to care for the baby.
Summary from the news: The result of unwanted pregnancies, whether from oneself or a partner, is being arrested by the police for “intentional murder,” killing the baby when the pregnancy is advanced, dying from blood loss because they didn’t give birth in a hospital, and being a suspect for abandoning the baby, leading to imprisonment.
Uncle Doctor analyzes that the reason she had to bear the risk and lose her future was due to hesitation and indecision on what to do. It is evident that they chose to conceal and hide the problem, allowing it to persist, lacking better and safer solutions, lacking awareness of the dangers or bad events that could occur, thus solving problems in a survival manner. In reality, they don’t need to take responsibility for men like this, and teenage life naturally has examples like this.
On December 9, a 20-year-old female student had her last period on October 20, 2016. It didn’t come in November. She took a urine test and ultrasound, and she wasn’t pregnant. The time she saw the doctor from the expected period date, November 20, to December 9, was 19 days, which is not late. It can be said that she decided to consult in time to solve the problem.
In the case of pregnancy, Uncle Doctor wants the period from missing a period to seeing a doctor to be decided quickly, preferably not more than 2 weeks. In this case, she had a boyfriend and had sex at 14 years old, but she prevented pregnancy by taking birth control pills, as her mother advised her to take them, and she saw her friends taking them too. She thought she couldn’t support herself yet, wanted to finish her studies, get a job, and was afraid of making mistakes, which is a good thought. Uncle Doctor agrees because it prevents pregnancy.
In the past, she had 3 boyfriends and had been taking birth control pills for 7 years, but from October to November, she didn’t take them because she had a fight with her boyfriend, broke up, and then reconciled. Later, she had unprotected sex, so she came for a check-up.
This is the truth about typical teenagers! Breaking up and reconciling is also a natural part of teenage life.
Women are not prepared to prevent, take birth control pills in time, and men shift the responsibility to women alone. In the past, she never got pregnant, had an abortion, or made mistakes, but she sometimes forgot to take the pill when going to clubs, drinking at night, and falling asleep when she got home. She went to clubs 2-3 times a month, causing her to miss taking the pill. The problem is she took the next pill instead of the missed one the next day, which is incorrect, or sometimes had sex, took it at the wrong time, midnight, 1 AM, 2 AM, instead of 10-11 PM, which should be taken within 2 hours of the usual time. Her friends said taking it for a long time would make it hard to have children, and the uterus would dry up. Uncle Doctor told her that’s not true.
Currently, she weighs 47 kilograms, has a beautiful, clear face, no acne, and fair skin. Her period is regular, not heavy, and not painful.
Most women or their partners may not be sure if they want children because they didn’t plan to have them, but neither she nor he made a full effort to avoid pregnancy. In the end, both ended up having a child, but the result is that women have to bear the risks from unplanned pregnancies. Therefore, women must ask themselves why? And should avoid risks, protect themselves, consult in time, and make the right decisions.
With love and care,
Dr. Rueangkit Sirikanjanakul, RSA Network Coordinator
Source: www.lovecarestation.com