Posts Tagged ‘Pregnancy’
Abortion – the right to decide
Recent events have left me pondering a topic that I have tried to avoid discussing due to its controversial nature – abortion. But, I feel I should put down some of these thoughts as it might encourage a discussion of it.
Abortion is a highly emotive topic and one that cannot be entered into lightly. I have never had to face the issue first-hand and I really thank God that I have never been put in that position. But I know people who have. None of them, however, chose abortion. I only know second-hand about their own feelings. Since I have not known anyone personally who chose abortion, I cannot present their side.
I know women who do choose abortion have their reasons for doing so, and I know the anti-abortion activists have much to argue against in that. However, I am not here to preach either side. I am not the one to live with the consequences of the decision these women make.
The point I do want to make is that women shouldn’t be forced into one decision or another. The pro-choice advocates would cheer for that, but I don’t think they get the point, either. It seems the general public only hear about women being coerced (by various groups) into keeping their child. They don’t hear about women who are bullied into having abortions.
Three women of my acquaintance have had to face the “choice”. All three were in stable marriages, so the situation is rather different from the young unmarried mother. One was much older and couldn’t face the idea of having another child late in life. Furthermore, she was getting very sick from the pregnancy. She didn’t know what to do and chose to wait it out. The decision was eventually taken out of her hands when she miscarried.
The other two discovered that their foetuses had birth defects. One was in her early twenties, the other in her late thirties. The younger one couldn’t and wouldn’t believe the diagnosis, but the older one realised it was due to her age. Both were very religious, though they adhered to different religions and different theological beliefs. That may have contributed to their decision not to have an abortion.
What distinguished these two from the first one was that their doctors continually advised them to have abortions throughout the pregnancy. They were both made to feel as if their opinions and beliefs were insignificant. In this day and age, this is unforgivable in the medical profession. The prognosis for the first child was extremely poor, the second barely less so, but this did not excuse the behaviour of the medical team. By the end of the pregnancies, the doctors were forced to accept that they would be delivering either a stillborn or a child expected to die.
Both sets of parents were prepared for all eventualities. The first was able to hold her child as he took his last breaths, the second delivered a stillborn daughter. Neither regretted their decisions. They were able to carry their child to term, felt all the movements the child made and developed a bond for the unborn, and then grieve a natural loss.
These women were able to stand up to their doctors and make their own decisions. But, how many other women are coerced into having abortions? How many of them regret it?
Constipation, bloating and farting go hand in hand
One of my most common complaints, though not a serious health issue, is constipation. Now, I realise that to actually have a diagnosis of constipation it should be a change in bowel pattern, such that it is not normal to myself. Everyone’s bowel habits are different – some go twice a day, while others may not go more than once a week. I fall somewhere in between, but there are other symptoms I suffer when I know I have constipation. One of those symptoms is bloating. And last night was one of those severe nights of bloating.
I was unable to sleep because every position was uncomfortable. I felt I needed to vomit to release everything inside my stomach. The stretching of the bowels was painful and as I rubbed my belly for comfort, it felt like I was distended from pregnancy. A large, loud burp relieved some of the pain and distention, but immediately, it would build up again. I had to sit, leaning forward to ease some of the pain.
In the past, I would turn to liquid antacids for relief. It did not always help and for many years, I have taken nothing. Yet, last night I was wishing for some. I had to turn to a peppermint lozenge. Why? Because I know that mints are one of the no-nos for people who suffer from acid reflux. (It may be that I have a problem with acid reflux due to my love of mints, which may be the culprit for all this bloating.) However, I understand that the mechanism of action is that mints lower the pressure in the lower esophageal sphincter, that muscle that separates the end of the esophagus and the stomach. This muscle relaxes in order to allow food to enter the stomach and contracts to prevent food from returning to the esophagus. Mints act to relax the muscle, which exacerbates acid reflux. However, I felt I needed it to relax to release all the trapped air. Whether or not it worked, or whether the gas finally dissolved on its own, I cannot say. But, I do know that eventually, I felt sufficiently comfortable to return to bed.
Now, I’ve tried to identify the triggers for the bloating, but it never is constant. I can be eating the same thing day after day and not have a problem and then bang! I’m bloated. The one thing I can associate it with is constipation. If the bowels are blocked up at one end, gas cannot pass through that end. So, when I feel bloated, I try to burp. Excessive burping warns me that my bowels are blocked.
People may not find passing gas very pleasant, but it is a necessary and vital part of life. Kids love it, though – they think it’s hilarious. Now, one should be careful not to encourage them to fart too loudly in public or amongst crowds, but one should not discourage them from relieving themselves when necessary, either. They should do it tactfully and others should tactfully try to ignore it.
