In this second episode of Vodafone Healthline – Season Ten, the in-house health professionals, with an objective to sensitise the public, have debunked assertion that a lady must bleed visibly to confirm virginity status during first time sexual intercourse.
Delving into the popular myth that blood must flow for panties or underwear to get stained and bedsheets to get wet with blood, the professionals indicated that usually girls who get involved in sporting activities and other leg stretching activities get the hymen torn and so there will be no blood drop on their first sex. And even in a situation where that is not the case, the blood flow is supposed to be just a drop and not massive flow as people speculate it to be.
Dr. Aba Folson, the Cardiologist, explained that sex is supposed to be enjoyed and not a painful exercise; therefore, the process should be carried out in patience and very interactive to put the lady at ease and not to cause injuries that will lead to serious bleeding. “Sex should not be pleasure at the expense of somebody; so guys should take it easy, especially when the lady is doing it for the first time”, she said.
Dr. Kwekuma Yalley, General Practitioner, on his part stated that the onus lies on the man to know that the lady is not supposed to bleed to show she is a virgin; therefore, guys should be mindful of their penetration and try not to cause bleeding.
In this episode’s health support project, the Healthline team landed in Manso Nkwanta, where Jeff Addei, a one year and seven months old boy with a kidney problem from birth, was fortunate to be identified as beneficiary of the Vodafone Healthline Programme to receive full funding support for a surgery to address the kidney problem.
Kate Addei – mother of the boy, indicated that she was informed about the situation in the latter days of her pregnancy but lack of funds made it impossible for an early surgery to correct the defect. This has aggravated the situation and damaged one kidney completely, a condition the doctors said must be removed urgently to avoid it from affecting the other one.
Jeff’s mother was full of joy and praises to the Vodafone team for coming to her aid at her lowest time in life.
Practical Health Care Demonstration Segment
Dr. Beatrice Nyann, Pediatrician/Padiatric Nephrologist, touched on the topic: ‘Kangaroo Mothercare’, where she educated mothers on how to deal with preterm babies. According to her, children born before 37 complete weeks or nine months are referred to us preterm, and mostly, they do not have all organs fully developed; therefore, special care is required.
Dr Nyann explained that advance medical technologists have developed incubators to handle such situations but it is very expensive for hospitals in our part of the world to acquire, hence, the adoption of ‘Kangaroo Mothercare’.
She demonstrated the process – which involves a skin-to-skin contact where mothers put the babies on their naked chest and cover it with a heavy cloth to ensure heat transfer. She added that fathers can also help in the situation when the mother is sick or not in good condition.
The benefits of this process, as she outlined, are low cost for any mother to be able to afford, helps to control the child’s breath as the child copies the breathing pattern of the mother, and also controls heartbeat of the babies, as well as bonds mother and child.
“Again, with the Kangaroo Mothercare, vomiting is reduced, stimulates production of more breast milk in the mother, emotional satisfaction, enhances weight gain in the baby and also promotes general health of the baby,” she said.
This Week in Medicine
On This Week in Medicine, Dr Kwekuma Yalley provided medical history on conjoined twins – also known as Siamese twins. Explaining the background as to why they are called so, he emphasised that Siamese means someone who hails from Thailand, but in the 19th century, there was a film show where many people queued to watch a programme dubbed: ‘Eng and Chang – Adult conjoined twins. And because of that movie, Siamese became attached to the term.
He stated that conjoined twins incidence is higher in Africa and Asia. The first doctor to carry out a successful surgery on such a condition was Johannes Fatio, Swiss surgeon, in Basel on 3rd December 1689.
In this first recorded incident, it was partially successful because at the time of the separation one of the twins was already dead and the other one also died after surviving for only three days.
In the case of Ghana, the first breakthrough took place in 1999 at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. After 22 years of the operation, they met with the lead surgeon, Dr. Winfred Hodasi, and expressed gratitude.
On the ‘Jewels in the Kitchen’ segment, Frema Asiedu outlined the benefits of ginger, stating that it helps with digestion and also address nausea, vomiting, as well as weight loss.
