we had childbirth education classes today, and a young couple brought up this question, "can we still continue to smoke? how many is considered ok?'

and i just looked at them. in shock and horror. LIKE HELLO?! are you living in some secluded island that you have no freaking clue about the dangers of cigarettes? the chick gave some lame excuse that she's tried really hard to cut down, but the patches and all that stuff dont seem to help and so shes still on 20 sticks a day and cant cut down (thats about 1 packet) the midwife was really kind though, she was like oh, im glad you are trying, just do your best, even if you cut down by half a cigarette its still really good. im like, are you serious? hell no! i mean if you wish to harm yourself go for it, but now you are carrying another person, another life inside you. passive smoking causes decrease growth, lower IQ and a whole lot of other complications that the baby didnt ask for, so yeah the answer is like maybe ZERO???! lucky she didnt direct the question to me huh haha, id have lambasted them. :)

and then in clinics today, this woman came in because her baby is small (very small, 5th percentile actually) for her due dates. and she was just saying shes wondering why how come none of the pregnancies (she's had 5 others) ever went smoothly. she either had them premature, very small, sudden high blood pressure etc. and guess what does she reek of? yeah CIGARETTES. its really amazing how self-deluded these people can be. 

geez. i really hate people who smoke, especially if its around children or the pregnant women. i think its such a selfish thing to do, if you do drugs/drink, at least you are just harming yourself or at the very most maybe your family/kill someone. but smoking not only harms you, but the whole environment with all that pollution. i think these people should learn to grow up and be more responsible, and start to think of others whenever they do anything.

and then we had this lovely woman, who's been trying for years to conceive. and when she finally conceives, she finds out that she has SLE (lupus). but even though you can see that she's in excruciating pain every time she moves her joints, she point-blank refuses any medications because she doesnt want her child to suffer from the side effects. i mean, thats what motherhood and parenting is about isnt it, putting your child above yourself, knowing that you have to be responsible for the little person inside you. its patients like these that make you feel inspired in medicine again, wanting to help them fulfil their wishes. and she's also got the most loving husband, who helps her rub her feet and joints even while shes just sitting there. sigh, its really unfortunate how some people who should deserve so much more dont.

another 'interesting' patient in clinic. the girl (19) is mentally challenged, and yet she's pregnant. see that's the problem with o&g. there's so much ethical questions, whereas i prefer things in their neat black and white columns. for me, i think that they really shouldnt procreate. after all, how is their child (who is hopefully not going to suffer the same condition) going to grow up normally? i know normal is a contentious word, but i still cant figure the logistics of 2 subnormal individuals trying to raise a child. yeah they can have help from the govt or NGO or extended family, but seriously, WHATS THE POINT? do i think they grasp the full concept of parenting? no. Are they able to understand their child's needs? no. Can they plan for the child's future? no. Can they love the child? maybe, in a very simplistic sense. The reality is, in the end, the poor child is going to have to mature earlier, lose his/her childhood innocence, to look after his parents, when his grandparents should have more common sense in the first place.

so yeah, im not trying to wean the weak kind of thing, but i think it's better for everyone including the unborn child if the whole thing never started in the first place.

ok off to watch a show now, cheerios!