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Unprotected sex can easily lead to an unwanted pregnancy. If it does, please visit a doctor, instead of doing things that endanger the woman's life.
Unprotected sex can easily lead to an unwanted pregnancy. If it does, please visit a doctor, instead of doing things that endanger the woman’s life.
‘I don’t know what I should do.’ Said Puneet (name changed).
And this is the statement that hundreds of Puneets make after having unprotected sex on a wild night. Even the change of name seems irrelevant to me.
He told this to me over a panicky phone call, four days after the intercourse, only after he was worried that his girlfriend had vomited twice. It was later found to be due to the previous night’s stale chaat corner.
Such is the state of knowledge of contraception of fully functioning working adults in our nation. Their beliefs of a positive pregnancy are shaped by retching scenes in melodramatic Bollywood movies than a sex education class. Because like ‘acchhe din’, there exists no such class in our country.
The aftermath of such situations is even worse. I had learnt from multiple sources (read: couples who had had unprotected sex under a belief that ‘nothing will happen’) that they had ‘managed’ an unwanted pregnancy via a little chat with the pharmacist at the local medical store. Within seven minutes or less, they can easily buy an abortion drug kit, without a prescription.
These are drugs that should only be bought with a prescription as per the guidelines. And it’s certainly impossible that pharmacist is not aware of it. It only adds to my horror that there are reports of Indian women using abortion kits to space pregnancy.
Then there are those cocky cases where the male refuses to wear a glove because of the ‘decrement’ in pleasure. The real problem arises when he reassures his love not to take the OCP (oral contraceptive pill) as he is stubborn on being the king of pulling out at the right time.
I have many impossible friends who somehow believe that unprotected sex without ejaculation cannot lead to a pregnancy.
Do they actually know that one; yes, a single sperm out of the average 50 lakh sperms in a 0.05 mL single drop of their semen can cause conception? Do they know that there is something called as precum lingering the tip of a penis? If I count every person whom I have explained the mechanics to, I really don’t think so.
The problem is not the drugs meant for abortion which are found to be safe enough that they usually can be taken at home. The problem is the blatant negligence in caution, in awareness about these drugs. The problem is the stigma that full grown adults have in visiting a Gynaecologist.
Let me break it down for you: the issue which has upended your world is another monotonous narrative at the worst for your doctor. The medical abortion can be done till 12 weeks of the pregnancy counting from the first day of a woman’s last period. It is safer if done earlier.
A word of caution, though. While medical abortion is mostly safe, there is the possibility of life threating complications like excessive bleeding, septic shock, incomplete abortion etc.
That brings us to the next question: Will adults, caught up with stigma, who couldn’t face going to a gynaecologist in the first case, reach the emergency medical services ‘in time’ if a complication happens?
Being a former medical student and now a doctor, I have received many similar panick-y calls in hushed tones over the years, and I have a single advice for all of them: Visit a doctor, not Google.
Header image is a still from the movie Salaam Namaste
Doctor, night owl, Quoran, cat person who spends his pasttime reading engrossing literary fiction and avoiding cold showers. read more...
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People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
14 years after her last feature film Dhobi Ghat, storyteller extraordinaire comes up with her new film, Laapataa Ladies, a must watch.
*Some spoilers alert*
Every religion around the world dictates terms to women. The onus is always on women to be ‘modest’ and cover their faces and bodies so men can’t be “tempted”, rather than on men to keep their eyes where they belong and behave like civilized beings. So much so that even rape has been excused on the grounds of women eating chowmein or ‘men will be men’. I think the best Hindi movie retort to this unwanted advice on ‘akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ (an alone woman is like an open jewellery box) came from Geet in Jab We Met – Kya aap gyan dene ke paise lete hain kyonki chillar nahin hain mere paas.
The premise of Laapataa Ladies is beautifully simple – two brides clad in the ghunghat that covers their identity get mixed up on a train. Within this Russian Doll, you get a comedy of errors, a story of getting lost, a commentary on patriarchy’s attitude towards women, a mystery, and a tale of finding oneself, all in one. Done with a mostly light touch that has you laughing and nodding along.
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