DAL PAKISTAN

 NWFP, Pakistan 21/02/2008

Caesarean section: which life to save

What a lucky baby you are? All your family knows that you are a Boy! So you are twice lucky, because you are a boy and because they know it! But what? You cannot find the right road? Well you find it? Come on, your sisters already went through it! What? You are not descending in the correct way! So from a normal labour now is prolonged labour, now you start to suffer, you are tired, too many hours stuck in this position: you are coming down with a face presentation, that means that you will not get out from that road! Don’t worry we can help you, even if we still don’t know your sex! We don’t care to this matters.

We have the facility to perform the caesarean section. Is night time but don’t worry; of we go to the Operating Theatre.

For the first time of my life I’m  helping the Gynaecologist to perform the operation, but is not just for this reason that I will remember this case. It is thanks to your grandmother, yes the mother of your mother. Just before going into the operating theatre she was standing next to your mother; I don’t understand your language but it’s seams normal that a mother stay next to her daughter in a difficult moment. So from my point of view, it looks like that she is taking care of your mother, she says words to the nurse that was standing just next to your mother. I’m curios, I ask to the nurse the translation, well with my big surprise she said: “ if you have to chose which life to save, save the life of the baby, you know is a Boy, the first Boy of the family!”. This was not the case, you are not dying or either your mother, you are just stuck in the wrong position! Your mother is very scared about the operation for her own life, she doesn’t know what is going on, the word of her mother are not really supporting in this situation. We tranquillise her, we tell her to don’t worry, everything will go fine.

Of curse the caesarean section proceed without complications: you are fine, just with a funny expression caused from the mal position, but in few hours your face it will be fine; your mother is fine as well. Your grandmother is really happy that you are a boy and healthy.

I’m not so happy, I’m just upset about how is terrible being a woman in this world. Even the mother of a female will not support her just because is a woman. That is why they shoot in the air when a baby boy is born, is a lucky thing, instead to be a female… is not the same, will never receive the same treatment.