This week, I had to abandon my plans to launch a new series in order to share something that has bothered me for a long time. Despite the fact that what I am about to say is a clear departure from what you are accustomed to, I do not believe it is a bad idea if I use this platform to project what will benefit us all. Let me share some stories with you before I hit the nail on the head.

In 2018, a woman who used to live near my mother’s shop died after refusing to have her babies (a twin pregnancy) delivered via caesarean section. I get goose bumps every time her image flashes through my mind. Another woman was advised not to have her baby in the hospital, and when she did, she had a difficult labor. She not only lost the child, but also her womb, and she was never pregnant again.

Apart from the fact that a woman may be afraid of losing her life during a caesarean delivery, the main reason women avoid it is due to religious beliefs, and this is where I want to enter the discussion. I apologize. To make my point, I’m going to sound a little religious. When a woman is told to prepare for a caesarean delivery (also known as a C-section), she may hear things like, “I shall deliver like a Hebrew woman, God did not make a covenant with me to deliver through caesarean section.” The next thing you notice is that she no longer attends her antenatal clinics, and when she does,she will not go to the hospital.

Some are fortunate, but the majority are unlucky because they lose their babies, have serious complications, or even die during labor. In times like this, our clergymen are always there for women. They are always on their side when it comes to “no caesarean delivery.” Older women, particularly the mother of the woman in labor, are not immune to this, especially if she had all her children vaginally; this is when you hear phrases like “a kii fi obe gba ebi ewure,” which means “a goat does not deliver via caesarean section.”

Isn’t our faith getting twisted? Okay, let’s go on a journey to clear things up. God put Adam to sleep and removed one of his ribs to create Eve. Isn’t that how doctors put women to sleep before a caesarean section and removing their babies from their wombs? So God is a surgeon and an anesthesiologist! And, as the Yoruba say, “eni bi ni la n jo,” which means “the apple never falls far from the tree.” What doctors do is simply carry on from where God left off!

Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with having faith, but what I’m trying to say is that people should combine their faith with wisdom. Having a caesarean section does not mean that God is powerless to save you. Let’s just say he found another way to save you. To give sight to Bartimaeus and another man, Jesus had to resort to the fundamental principle on which man was formed – spitting on the ground and making clay out of the spittle.

He then anointed the blind man’s eyes with clay and instructed him to wash in a pool before his sight was restored. Your doctor may schedule a caesarean delivery in advance of your due date, or it may become necessary during labor due to an emergency.

Other reasons for a caesarean delivery include prolonged labor, a breech baby, fetal distress, birth defects, repeated caesarean sections, chronic health conditions, cord prolapse, or carrying multiples. Always listen to your doctors, regardless of the cause.

The joy of being alive with your baby after the nine-month journey comes with many challenges. So, if going through a CS is your only option, please take it. Women who have had their babies via caesarean section are stigmatized and viewed as weak. “It’s a normal delivery,” I keep hearing from people who have had their babies vaginally. Which of these is unusual? You are a strong woman if you had your baby via caesarean section.

Don’t let anyone make you feel bad about yourself. You are still a “Hebrew woman” no matter what. Perhaps campaigns can be launched in religious settings to persuade them that God performed surgery on man as well, as this is where the strongest opposition to caesarean deliveries originates. We cannot continue to lose women. All of these deaths must come to an end.

On a lighter note, a video of a woman eating plantation peels recently went viral, and many people sent it to me. They wanted my thoughts on it. Yes, continue to eat the peels! I mentioned plantain peels and the fact that they are edible in the Medicines in Unusual Plant Parts series.

Mr Ife Ogunlowo, Head, Herbarium and Medicinal Plant Gardens, Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, told me that ripe plantain peels are one of the constituents his wife uses to make a herbal soap that his family uses because it removes wrinkles and can lighten or tone the skin moderately without side effects. According to him, unripe peels can be soaked or blended and used to treat high blood pressure and diabetes. If you can’t eat it raw, cut it into tiny pieces, cook it, and add it to your favorite recipes. You can also boil the water and drink it.

I like how the woman said it (eating plantain peels) was passed down from her grandfather. This highlights the importance of indigenous or traditional plant knowledge.

I will not forget my weight loss advice. You can get people to join you if you choose walking as a form of exercise. It adds to the intrigue. When I get home from a walk, the first thing I do is drink a cup of warm water with lime squeezed in it. I usually drink it through a straw. Next week, a new series begins. It’s going to be exciting.

By admin

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