Hello all!
Today is Valentine's Day, so shout out to my amazing husband back home who is the most supportive and loving man I know! I lucked out when I married him and am currently missing him like crazy. I hope you enjoy your surprise, Pierce!
Chinese people also have started celebrating Valentine's Day, so there's lots of flowers and hearts around today. It seems to be very similar to how Americans celebrate. Today is also the Chinese Lantern Festival, which is the 15th day in the Chinese New Year. Most of the larger buildings have red lanterns hanging outside their doors. This festival marks the end of celebrations for the Chinese New Year, which is 2 weeks long. My Chinese friends are taking me out tonight to see all the lanterns in a park and eat rice balls called tangyuan. I'll take pictures and attempt to upload a few.
I still can't upload pictures to this blog, so I've started uploading more on Instagram/Facebook. You can see more of my adventure there! My Instagram username is arnettj.
Quick announcement: I wanted to clarify my last post, where I mentioned that occasionally, doctors are murdered. This RARELY happens and the few instances were because the patient had some sort of bad outcome (complications or death). People here don't dislike doctors in general. They just don't trust their medical decisions and don't comprehend that not every procedure/disease will end perfectly. I am still very safe here, promise! (Nana, this paragraph is for you!)
Since I'm going into OB/Gyn (fingers crossed), I was very interested in learning about women's healthcare here. Much of it is the same or very similar to the US: the diseases, pelvic exams, treatments, laboratory tests, procedures. What is NOT the same, of course, is the elephant in the room: China's One-Child Policy.
The Chinese government, since 1979, has mandated that each family only has one child. There were exceptions, of course: rural families could have a second child if the first child was a girl. Ethnic minorities were exempt. Foreigners were exempt. A new change to this rule has many people here very excited. If either parent is an only child, the families can have another child. Some provinces have already implemented this change, though Guandong province (where I am) will not change until later this year.
This sounds nuts to us Americans, right? A government telling us how many children we can have? Here, of course, it's to control overpopulation. There are so many people here and not enough resources. Other things I have learned about this law: you can only have a child if you are married (people can get married around 22). If you decide to have more than one child, you must pay a large fine. For someone who makes about 200,000 yuan (about $33,000 USD) per year, the fine would be between $30,000 and $60,000, USD. That's a huge fine.
Thus, to follow this law, a large number of women must have abortions, either medicinal or surgical. Contraceptives are highly encouraged and IUDs are the most popular. From what I understand, after having a child, women are required to get an IUD. Mirena IUDs are used here, but are decently expensive ($150 USD) compared to the very common copper ring IUD (75 cents USD). However, things happen, and abortions here are ridiculously common. The abortions are completed the same way there are in the US (except with no general anesthesia or sedation), and similar guidelines are followed regarding the age of the fetus. By law, they are not done based on the sex of the baby. I've talked to multiple patients who have had 3 or 4... one patient had 9! There is no debate here about wrong or right, like there is in the US. It just seems to be an (ugly and sad) fact of Chinese life.
It is hard for me to comprehend a system like this, where the government controls such a personal aspect of your life. Being the type of person who sees many shades of gray in every discussion, I can see some of the positives. It would be fantastic to not have to deliver a 15 year-old's second baby. The majority of the patients I see in the US are unmarried, single moms with multiple children by different fathers who struggle to raise their children. It might be a stereotype, but it's a true one. Spend a day at any community hospital in the US and you will understand. That just does not happen here. And, of course, when population > resources, many terrible things happen.
Am I endorsing the one-child policy? Absolutely not. I find it contradictory to natural rights. However, I wanted to share what is part of everyday life in China.
Many, many women and doctors here are excited about the changes in the one-child policy. I hope such an advance in thinking continues.
Until next time,
jessica.eae
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