After my hair appointment, I went with a friend to give her support about seeing the doctor to get sterilized. She's older than me, with one child and going through divorce. The doctor told her no in case she changed her mind and met a new man who wanted to have a child with her. :facepalm:Even the wording of that is all wrong. It's only the man being considered there, never mind what my friend wants.
My friend knows what she can cope with, but the doctor just wouldn't listen to her; even when she said about bad PND and only just being able to cope with her son due to his special needs, let alone going through pregnancy and another baby. And never mind how that new baby would affect her existing child.
I just don't understand the reasoning of these doctors who refuse women when they are very sure that they do not want more children, or never want any at all. Don't they understand the impact on existing children, family, sanity, emotional and physical wellbeing, and earnings that pregnancy and children bring?
It's denying women control over their own bodies just because the idea still persists that all women want children. If a woman says she's done with one or two children, or none at all, then that's what she wants.
I gets me thinking though: if my friend is being refused, then I've got no chance. I'm much younger than my friend, and I have no children. Right now, without sterilization, it feels like my body could betray me and ruin my life. I know that's dramatic, but that's how I feel about it.