Wednesday 30 September 2015

A Tale of Two Cities

And so yours truly just had a bouncing yummy kissable absolutely adorable baby girl! Yaaayyyy!!! :)
Which by the way is the reason I didn`t publish a new post last month. 
As expected, my tiny Madam at the Top demanded and still demands my full attention.
But I`m not complaining, I`m very much enjoying the sleepless nights and busy days. Well, for now. LOL
Lest I get overly excited and go on and on and forget the matter at hand, I`ll go straight to the point.

While I was privileged to deliver my daughter, Munachimso in obodo oyinbo, a friend of mine had hers here in Naija. Our experiences even though we both underwent the same surgery were as different as night and day. 


A couple of hours after I came out of the theatre, I was given some ice cubes to suck on. Soon after, a liquid meal was brought in. The following morning, I was allowed a solid meal. Thousands of miles away, my friend was allowed a glass of water twenty four hours after her surgery, and a meal two whole days after that.

While I cleaned Muna`s navel thrice daily with some spirit until it healed completely as per my doctor`s instructions, my friend chose to ignore her`s, instead she massaged her baby`s tender navel with steaming hot water before rubbing in some palm oil and potash mixture, as per her mother`s instructions. Day after day she regaled me with more and more outrageous tips, some of which she got from her mother and others from "well wishers".  

>    Baby girls should not be encouraged to sit too early lest they suffer from severe 
      cramps 
>    Babies should not be given water to drink until they are at least four months old lest
      they don`t grow tall
>    Don`t carry babies on your back lest they become bow-legged
>    Place a piece of thread on baby`s head to stop hick-ups 
>    Never carry babies on your shoulders while walking across an empty field lest evil
      spirits attack them
>    Don`t play around a baby`s navel lest it becomes infested with worms
>    When you take a baby off someone`s back you must give them a pinch and say
      these words " both the front and the back belong to you"

One quiet afternoon, I received a call from another friend. I happened to mention that our oyinbo neighbours would throw a party when we finally left for Naija as Muna`s cries must have been giving them sleepless nights. She asked if Muna cried often, I laughed and responded that like any new-born she did but only when she was hungry or uncomfortable. There was a brief pause on the other end of the line followed by a long hiss, then she said one of the most baffling things I ever heard. That the crying was because Muna was in a lot of pain as there happened to be too much fat in her stomach, and the solution was to pump some hot water through her anus into her stomach to eject the fat.

I was torn between laughing or crying. Laughter at the ignorance of some people, tears as I imagined the poor innocent baby being subjected to such a barbaric act. To think that there are people who actually believe and practice these things. Even the most enlightened among us fall prey to such practices. 

I have since wondered why my friend had to be subjected to three days of starvation when it was possible to have a meal the very next day, since there were no complications. I got into an argument over this with a friend who said not to compare how it`s done abroad with how we do it here. I won because I was able to cite several hospitals right here in Lagos where it`s possible to have a solid meal the very next day after a surgery. I guess the others didn`t get the memo!





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