Unwanted women (on Women's Day)

On International Women's Day 2017, I would like to remember the sad story of a woman patient we saw a few months ago.

For those who cannot understand the 'medicalese' let me annotate the antenatal card in the picture above.

This 50 year old patient came to us for an antenatal checkup. This was her 6th pregnancy.

Pregnancy no 1 had resulted in a normal delivery at home. Girl child. Now 31 years old.

And so on. All normal deliveries at home. Resulting in daughters who were now 29, 27 and 25 years old respectively. She kept conceiving and delivering at home.

Until 22 years ago, when she had finally managed to give birth to a male child. Relieved and overjoyed, she had undergone a tubal ligation.

Sadly, the story did not end there. The son passed away in a road traffic accident 3 years ago.

And so this elderly braveheart underwent hormonal treatment and fertility procedures to try and conceive again. She finally conceived after IVF. 

We watched as she came for every checkup on time, faithfully taking her pills and vaccinations, looking forward to welcome a new son, 31 years after her firstborn.

Things did not go as planned. Baby no 6, also delivered by a vaginal delivery, was A GIRL.

I shudder to think of the life ahead of this beautiful little baby, born as the fifth unwanted girl child in this family.....