Last night I
hung out our granddaughter Samantha’s diaper laundry. Her coverings for her diapers are bright and
cheery… just like her. She brightens our
days.
Birth
control* allows us to enjoy our children more.
When babies are planned then parents are not stressed out, and there are fewer single mothers struggling
with job, home, and children… in other words family planning is a gift from
scientists and ultimately from the Divine… this I believe deeply**.
Our clinic
provides extremely low-cost birth control.
Condoms are free, and for the last
three years we have provided birth control implants. These are safe for teen girls and provide
protection for 3 - 5 years. I mentioned
in an earlier blog the story of a young mother, 16 years of age, with TWO
children, walking in and saying “I want an implant.”
Teens have
some logic issues because the frontal lobe part of their brain has not yet fully
formed… a girl living in poverty sometimes looks at an older man and thinks he
represents security, so she has a baby with the man… it seldom works out. Girls sometimes feel embarrassed coming to
a clinic for birth control because “everyone will know” … “everyone” definitely knows when their belly
starts growing.
Adding to
poverty, desperation, and sometimes lack of knowledge, teen girls are at risk
of rape or incest. Having implant
protection means AT THE VERY LEAST that an unwanted baby doesn’t add to their
trauma.
Many
Nicaraguan women living in poverty are the financial stability for the
family. When they can control how many
children they have, then they have even more control over the family’s food
allowance, clothing, and shoes for the children they chose to have. They can slowly, with help, begin to lift their
children out of poverty.
The initial
available implants were good for only three years, and it has been three years
now. We just spent over $5,000 for 200
implants, good for up to five years, which is very inexpensive, BUT buying them
all at once has put a huge dent in our budget.
We spend $50/woman for lab tests, PAP readings, and putting in the implants,
including the cost of the implants themselves.
Please support one teen girl, one woman, one single mother, one mother
overwhelmed with poverty… all too poor to secure their own security.
We took a chance and spent the funds because we have seen the difference the implants make in these girls’ and women’s health and lives. Will you help our clinic staff help them?
We took a chance and spent the funds because we have seen the difference the implants make in these girls’ and women’s health and lives. Will you help our clinic staff help them?
-Kathleen
* Again, not
writing about abortion which is illegal in Nicaragua.
** I became
pregnant three times while on birth control and STILL believe it is a blessed
gift.
NOTE: If you are reading this blog using the mobile version, click on "web version" to see the full blog with all the features including "subscribe to blog by email". Please join us and also share on your social media.
Donate here to the ongoing work of the CDCA in Nicaragua:
