Yesterday as I went through my mails to read the posts of fellow bloggers, an article from A Loco Viva Voce  on birth control and unconventional methods piqued my interest and I decided to follow my nose to see if anything new has been discovered.

Well, to my disappointment no new methods have been found but I became privy to titillating gossip that Kate Middleton could be expecting another child – mind you this is still at rumor stage. Of course, my investigative senses couldn’t resist this morsel of information so I followed the link.

Digesting the rumor and the attendant comments of busy-bodies, I left a comment on A Loco Viva Voce’s blog which reads:

“Interesting! Let’s not be hasty in casting aspersions at anyone yet for getting pregnant a tad too early if that rumor is true. So many people have been caught in the heat of the moment 😉

I had a whole lot that I wanted to say about the post and the rumor which we can twist around from here to seven Sundays, but I will just stick to a few observations.

About the birth control methods:

I wanted to express my disappointment that after reviewing the proposed methods of birth control, it is still the same proffered methods that have been available for decades, which are by the way heavily skewed to the female gender. That no new alternatives have been developed for the menfolk asides from good old condom and abstinence (when they are forced to abstain).

I have been privy of a situation where a lady got pregnant after a failed family planning method and her husband went bonkers. It took the intervention of third parties to calm the swirling emotions (and my question was, did he not participate in the act? Is the responsibility of planning their family not for both of them? A whole new conversation in itself).

I have also been privy to the situation of a friend who got sterilized based on her husbands insistence, whilst he guarded his family jewels and continued his licentious affair with the nanny. Today, they are separated and she regrets getting sterilized.

Where am I heading to with these examples, you might care to ask?

My question is: Why is it that the pertinent issue of family planning seems to be borne by women mostly and in a whole lot of instances, prolonged application of some of these methods leads to one health complication or the other? When will more inroads be made to develop alternate methods for men? Some pills should be good for them too 😉

Let’s not delve into the moral side of these things for now.

About the Rumor:

In the case of Kate Middleton getting pregnant shortly after having a baby:

I wanted to say, whose business is it anyway? The last time I checked, they are legally married and it is their prerogative what they choose to do in their matrimonial home.

I wanted to add that it is not our affair to dictate to a married couple how many kids they should have and how they should have them – except in the circumstance of life and death.

I needed to voice an opinion that sometimes these accidents do happen in the bedroom shortly after a new baby, because at the best of times, even the best of brains tend to become scrambled when looking after very young ones.

Is there an explanation as to why she gets insulted for an act that is her marital right and indulged in by both parties – it is not as if she was caught in flagrante delicto with an outsider?

About the comments people made:

I wanted to remind people that, in as much as there is freedom of expression and the anonymity which the virtual World offers, it is wrong to write very insulting commentary about others – but then again, we have some miserable humans and in a World where leaders and Presidential aspirants can spout virulent nonsense, anything is almost permissible.

We should remember that our manners count both online and offline.

Whose business is it anyway?

Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

In response to: Writing 101 – Day 8: Expand a comment