News dated June 12, 2016, Deputy Inspector of Investigation, Klong Tan Police Station received a report
Found the body of a newborn baby abandoned in the area of a house in Klong Tan Nuea, Watthana District, Bangkok. Officials rushed to inspect the area in front of the house. At the fence, a large black garbage bag was found. Inside was the body of a newborn male infant. The end of the umbilical cord was torn, wrapped in a short-sleeved black shirt.
A Burmese housemaid who found it testified that every day around 7 PM, she would take the trash can out in front of the house, and at 10 PM, a garbage truck from the district office would come to collect it. The next morning, she would bring the trash can back into the house. But this morning, she found the said object. Upon opening it, she saw the body of a newborn baby and immediately called the authorities to investigate. The police then coordinated with the investigation team to inspect nearby CCTV cameras to track down those involved and proceed with legal action.
Who is the woman who gave birth to this baby? No one knows. She certainly did not want the baby that was born. She was pregnant and not ready, but she continued the pregnancy until delivery, and eventually, the deceased baby was found. Suppose this woman found out she was pregnant and realized she was not ready. If she could find a solution early on and resolve it, this incident might not have happened.
Uncle Doctor believes that every problem has a solution and wants to encourage women facing problems to have physical and mental strength, to be mindful and wise, to fight when facing this problem. Starting with, when you find out you are pregnant, not knowing or being unsure of how to proceed, Uncle Doctor has a guideline to suggest that women ask themselves questions in order to make decisions as follows:
Start with one “Am I really pregnant?” You need to take a urine test. If you find out you are pregnant, don’t worry yet. Think slowly, “What should I do next? Can I make a decision? When do I need to decide? Can I come to terms with the decision?”
Second step “Can I continue the pregnancy when I’m not ready?” Then think about what the obstacles are? How can they be resolved? How ready am I to care for and deliver the baby? How can my partner, family, and those around me help? Can I continue to work or study?
Third step “What about having an abortion?” The following questions are: Can I have an abortion? At what gestational age can it be done? When do I need to decide? Who do I need to tell if I have to have an abortion? Or where are the places that offer safe services? What information is there about safe abortion?
Fourth step “If I continue the pregnancy until delivery, do I still have options?” There are options as well. How can I continue to care for the child myself? If there are problems with care, where can I seek help? If not ready, how can I give the child up for adoption, or temporarily give them up in case I change my mind?
Let’s look at the life of a woman and how she manages.
Than (pseudonym), 33 years old, has one child aged 1 year and 4 months, living in a province in the Northeast. The child’s father has to travel to work in Bangkok, returning to stay with her and the child for about 7 days every 1-2 months. When she found out she was pregnant with her first child, Than felt she wasn’t very ready, but ultimately decided to continue the pregnancy. On the day of labor, she experienced nausea, vomiting, and difficulty breathing. The doctor used a fetal heart monitor and found the heart rate was abnormally slow, so a cesarean section was performed. Than had a son.
But family life after having a child seemed like she was raising the child alone. Her parents were old, and she had to earn money herself by growing jasmine flowers to sell because the 5,000 baht her partner sent each month wasn’t enough for her and the child’s expenses. In this economic situation, raising a child alone is very tiring. Than feared having another child. She told her partner to get a vasectomy, but he refused, saying he was afraid of pain. Than herself was in pain from the cesarean section, so she wanted her partner to take responsibility for contraception. In the end, she was the one who took precautions, but an accident happened.
For the second pregnancy, Than said she was really not ready to continue. “I have a lot to manage. The important thing is to take the best care of the first child.” At this point in her life, she had to plan for her and her child’s future. “If I have another child, can I raise two children with quality? It’s not possible. I need to have an abortion.” Than thought that this decision was not sinful because when she found out she was pregnant but not ready, she had to quickly manage it to prevent it from escalating. She insisted, “I think the decision is up to us. No one knows better than us because the problem is with us. We have to be firm enough…”
Than continued to say:
In the past, her life began when her mother was pregnant and not ready. After birth, she had to be given to an aunt to raise. She didn’t want the same thing to happen to her child. Her past experience made her analyze that having a child means raising them well and warmly, not just having a child but not being able to raise them with quality. Than had to look back at her own strength to see how much responsibility she could take. Than made all the decisions herself, even though her partner claimed that others in worse situations could still raise children, she insisted on not continuing the pregnancy…
She consulted a doctor quickly because she felt dizzy and checked her last recorded menstrual period, which hadn’t come. She went to a pharmacy to buy an abortifacient, but the store advised her to see a doctor. The doctor performed an ultrasound and found she was just over 4 weeks pregnant, with no embryo visible yet. Than received help to terminate the pregnancy with medication and was safe, healthy, and able to return to work as usual. She said she felt at ease with this decision, thanked the doctor for keeping her safe, and felt good for not seeking a wrong solution by buying abortifacients.
Than concluded by saying “I don’t feel bad about having an abortion. I don’t feel like I did something wrong, but I feel good that I can work for my child’s future.”
Uncle Doctor wants all young women to learn from Than’s experience, who knew how to analyze her problems, needs, and necessities, and firmly took action to resolve them, ultimately receiving safe and reassuring treatment.
With love and care,
Uncle Doctor Ruangkit Sirikanchanakul
Source: www.lovecarestation.com