I just talked to a pregnant lady (that I like very much). She said she's feeling very tired lately, and I asked if she was taking Iron. To me, obviously a rhetorical question as she was 5 months pregnant. Who in their right mind wouldn't take Iron while pregnant? I mean, even 3rd world hospitals can afford to give this information to patients!!!
But when she answered, I proceeded to question her further, and that's when I realized she wasn't on Iron. She wasn't even on Folate, a vitamin important for the proper formation of the fetus' spinal cord amongst other parts of the body. In fact, she was on NOTHING!!! Didn't get an ultrasound, didn't have any tests done. Wasn't followed by a gynecologist.
I looked at the young lady, trying to understand what could cause such negligence. And I got SO MAD! Yes, mad...when I thought of her unborn baby. How could a mother be so negligent? I was having flashes of pictures of children with spinal malformations-spina bifida, meningoceles, etc, all of these so easily prevented by pregnant women taking Folate vitamins. And that's the least we can do for our kids because when they're born looking like aliens then the implications are everlasting. And yes, I got even madder when I thought about the things that I now knew; what about the things I didn't? Do you even watch what you eat? Drink? Have you stopped drinking alcohol? Madddeeeerrrrrr!
But then I decided to breathe, then looked again at the young lady. Needless to say she was feeling uneasy because her answer to all my questions so far had been no.
"You have to watch over your baby. Whatever you eat it eats. Whatever you drink it drinks. Your blood is its blood because everything it gets comes from you"I needed her to realize that her fetus was defenceless, and needed much more than being carried around in an immobile sack. I needed her to realize that she must take her vitamins and visit a gynecologist as soon as possible.
She was very receptive, and after leaving, I was left with the same question: what could cause such negligence? Could it be ignorance? Having stopped school at an early age, I knew this was plausible. Could it be lack of means to afford health care? Or could it be simply our culture (Cameroon) where we go see a doctor only when things are out of control?
I think it was a combination of all these, and I realized that I shouldn't have been quick to judge her like I did.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Friday, April 20, 2012
God in me
Everybody 'round you trying to figure out why
You're so cool, you win all the time
Everywhere you go, man you get a lot of shine
You draw like a magnet, better yet I have it
Everything you wear people say they gotta have it
From the sweat suit to the white tee to the Gucci
You can probably say people wanna get like me
But what they don't know is when you go home
And get behind closed doors, man you hit the floor
And what they can't see is you're on you're knees
So the next time you get it just tell 'em
It's the God in me, it's the God in me
It's the God in me, it's the God in me
It's the God in me
You think I'm so fresh, you think I'm so clean
You think I'm so sweet
It's the God in me, it's the God in me
It's the God in me
You see her style, you think she nice
You look at her whip, you say the whip tight
You look at her crib, you thinking she's paid
You look at her life, you think she's got it made
But everything she's got, the girl's been given
She call it a blessing but you call it living
When it come to money she can be a hero
She writes them checks with a whole lot of zeros
But what you don't know is when she get home
And get behind closed doors, man she hit the floor
And what you can't see is she on her knees
And if you ask her she'll tell you
What is it you think you see when you see me, you see me?
You don't know how much I pray
Don't know how much I gave, don't know how much I changed
I'm just tryna explain
It's the God in me, it's the God in me
It's the God in me, it's the God in me
It's the God in me
You think I'm so fresh, you think I'm so clean
You think I'm so sweet
It's the God in me
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