Skip to main content

It all began when...

By
It all began when I willingly became the recipient of the sperm that found its way to the egg. That too in the missionary position! No, this isn’t about sex. It’s about the aftermath – the baby.

So after a long and tiresome 5 year planning (these were the days when the planning commission actually existed), I was carrying. Pregnancy by far the most amazing time of my life but it was also the scariest, most guilt ridden, and tiring time too (I think it gives you a preview for actually having a kid).

During my tenure, I was astounded and fazed with all the information of what I should and shouldn't do while pregnant. Everything finished off with "to be on the safe side, just avoid it." Well that's great, only that then I’d be expected to sit in Fort Knox eating washed, organic paalak and popping folic acid week after week if I did that.
As much as I wanted to turn a blind eye to all these scare tactics, I couldn't help but think "what if". What if I did miscarry because I popped a roadside golgappa? What if my baby was deformed because I orphaned the poor wasp, which was almost ready to give me a boxer’s eye? I second-guessed and went to someone who has all the answers - no God wasn’t really free especially so I settled for Google.

Now that my baby’s here, I look back on that time with resentment and ire. Not because there are ample warnings of what the ‘chandra grahan’ can do to your foetus or how gorging on stale rotis can guarantee curly hair,  but these so called know-it-alls drop these little nuggets in your lap with terms like "studies have shown" and "experts agree" but with very few studies or experts to back them up. Then they wrap it all up with the ever endearing "to be on the safe side, avoid it "to absolve themselves if your kid grows a third eye because you ate a chewing gum in your first trimester. You're left praying and asking for divine forgiveness with the ever looming "be on the safe side" hanging over your head if, god forbid, you decided to have a cup of coffee with dinner. So I decided to rant as much as I could on many of the subjects that haunted me throughout my pregnancy to shine a little perspective on all of it.

I'm not a doctor. No, I’m not a quack either. This is only a compilation of the things I experienced and you yourself need to decide which things you think you should avoid during your pregnancy and things that you shouldn't. All I can guarantee is that down the road we'll all find out we chose good, bad and even ugly and it's a miracle any of us are here at all.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most read ones here:

Racing to be fair!

By
I remember when I was younger; I was given these messages about beauty being fair, dainty and polished for girls. How was it for the boys, tall, dark and handsome? Well, somewhere down the line beauty and the eyes of the beholder parted ways and forgot to inform us. Why because every advertisement today about creams is no longer about protecting our skin against dryness or chafing, only because we want to, but about the colour of our skin. Ours here has extended in the past few years to that of men's as well. The TDH will no longer do, being the quintessential working woman and metrosexual man now means that we all need to be white.    Even if we choose to   ignore the warnings about mercury content in these creams , can we really ignore the racism that they promote? Now, how is that not racism? Or did we forget that   apartheid   was about not being treated badly because of dark skin colour? I think that the present should not learn from history? At least, I hope
Post a Comment
Read more

Marriage Matters - 1

By
Image source:  Esposas de Matrimonio Last time when I wrote about our obsession with fairer a.k.a white skin and how that is racism . A friend pointed out that this extends to marriage as well. That is, our obsession, among a list of other things, extends to marriage too. Thus, it got me thinking about the pressures that we have to face to get married, the before and after of it all. It starts at home and then goes on with relatives, friends and everyone else around us.    Marriage is the milestone for most girls right after graduation so that she does not become too old to find an appropriate match , or bear children. It is also because hopefully, she will not have met someone and decided for herself whom to marry. The ‘gods’ forbid, she is 'senseless' enough to select someone outside of her community! What a shame! Boys often face the pressure of marriage as soon as they get their first job. Now that their market value is established. Especially, if he has a
Post a Comment
Read more

Yes...um...No. Oh, wait! Maybe...!!

By
Video source: It's simple as tea Consent - what, how, when, till when…the questions are unending and rightly so. It is confusing and it is complicated. I believe that is a good thing, because it is only when we are uncomfortable and confused that we start digging deep and un-layer things or issues. It may drive some of us to engage in conversations and discussions, and I’d say why not? It helps the unlearning, learning and understanding, doesn’t it? So, my confusions, questions and discussions with friends and colleagues left me wondering what is consent -what, how, when, till when, whose? I chanced upon this lovely article using tea as an example , and then some in this video - A Lavni about consent . It helped me to understand quite a bit about the yes, no, and maybe, and some of the in between. This also set me wondering. What if, people (hosts and hostesses) feel obliged that they have to offer you something tea included if you are a guest at their pla
Post a Comment
Read more