My Wife's latest Visit at the Gynecologist

Today I want to tell you about my wife’s latest visit to a gynecologist. Well, no, she didn’t go for herself and she also didn’t come home with good news. No, she came home once more with a negative impression of an Indian doctor’s way of working, opinion and expression. She shared her impressions with me and I, in turn, would like to share these with you.

Especially since her own pregnancy and the birth of our baby girl, my wife has noticed how many women here in India have very little knowledge about their own bodies, the development of a baby and everything that surrounds a pregnancy – or not becoming pregnant. Of course a lot of that ignorance is due to a lack of education but there are also many educated women who hesitate a lot and are terribly ashamed when it comes to that issue that they hardly have a chance to get to know more about their own reproductive organs and everything that is connected with it. That’s how Ramona has supported already several women of our staff as well as her friends by talking to them about her own experience, telling them what she knew herself, looking things up for them or showing them pictures and videos online and in books. She has even accompanied some of them to visits at the gynecologist and the latest visit was together with one of our female employees.

Our employee’s normal date of her menstruation had passed and that’s how she had already done a pregnancy test. It was positive – but she and her husband didn’t want another baby! She was wondering what she should do and brought the topic up while Ramona was playing outside with Apra. Another employee advised she should just go, buy abortion pills which you could, so her words, get anywhere and take them – problem solved. Ramona, who cringed at these words, explained that she should first of all go to see a gynecologist, adding that one should not take any drastic steps without having had an examination by a doctor. Seeing the young woman’s hesitation, Ramona decided to accompany her.

Before they went to the doctor, Ramona had a lengthy conversation with the woman and even her husband, asking them what they had in mind for their future. They were actually surprised about the pregnancy because they had thought that the mother could not get pregnant as long as she was still breastfeeding her two-year-old son. The couple had no idea about contraceptives but they were sure about one thing: they didn’t want to have another baby. They wanted to give all their love and support to their baby boy. The woman had already had several miscarriages, one time at nine months when the dead baby had to be taken out by caesarian. Due to some complications in her second pregnancy, she knew another pregnancy would also be risky and would end in another caesarian. She was confirmed about not carrying the child to term and so was her husband.

After this talk and two days of time to think about it, Ramona went to the doctor with the woman for something that they expected to be a clear consultation, examination, diagnose and treatment, an abortion. She was not prepared for the difficulties that they would face – but of that I want to tell you tomorrow.