Saturday, April 17, 2010
Medical Technologies
Examine infertility and assisted reproduction in Kuwait. Why are there so many fertility clinics? What consequence does infertility have on the Kuwaiti family? What are the pressures on women? Are Kuwaitis shopping for families or are traditional concerns exagerated by medical professionals who are willing to capitalize on fears?
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Every person, whether man or woman, wishes to have a family. But to be sterile, this is something sad. To be sterile, meaning that you can not a family or have children. In our Kuwaiti society, we have many fertility clinics and these clinics can aide some of these people that have children and increase their fertility, but not all of them. And when we think of the result of infertility on the family of Kuwait, we find that the result is the same for any family was, and from any country. It is very sad thing if the person discovered that s/he is sterile. For example, if a couple got married and one of them can not have children, the other will leave him/her to have the family for as long as he had dreamed of. Nobody will not blame him/her on what s/he did. But what will happen to the person who is sterile after that. In my personal point of view, I think that this person can get married to another sterile person. There is a sterile person I know and this is a true story. This person married to a girl and when they knew that he can not have children, they tried a lot to cure in many fertility clinics, but there is no solution. They got divorced, and therefore he married another woman older than him in age. This second wife is a widow and has children. He is now considered these children are his children and bring them up on this basis. For women, I think that pressure is much less than men. Islam allows a man to have four wives. Therefore, since he can have another wife with his first sterile wife, he can marry again without divorce. Of course in fertility clinics, even if they know that this person will not have children and they do not have the cure for him/her, they are trying to treat him just to take advantage and get the most amount of money. And this because of their knowledge that this person will do anything to have children and family.
ReplyDeleteFertility clinics first emerged following the gulf war. The exposure to the polluted air and water has raised the percentage of infertility in Kuwait. However, there no prove that all the patients that received treatment in 1990’s were indeed exposed to conditions that lead to their infertility.
ReplyDeleteAnother interpretation could be that “the war pollution” provides a cushion for couples to use as excuse that will not lead to stigmatizing of the man. He was simply a victim of uncontrollable conditions.
Childless couples in Kuwait face difficult reality. Man “manhood” his inheritance , his wealth and his entire identity as man is all achieved only be “opening a house” meaning having a wife and children “ many many children, 5 is the average in Kuwait”
A woman on the other hand has even a more difficult crisis if she is “the cause” her identities is drawn by the society even as a child, she must be mother and take care of her children.
Any women incapable of conceiving; will be look at with pity and even consider somewhat of an outcast from the family-orientate event that re common to Kuwaiti family” so spare her hurt feelings, but also “specially for older generation” to protecting the family form her envy and “evil eye”
If the couple chooses to stay together despite the women infertility; they will be to some extent “under suspicion” family members will first try to convince the husband to “think reasonably” and marry another one or divorce her. The women on the other hand will be guilt into giving more space to her husband and is constantly told not to “upset him”
If the situation was reversed it will still be the women who are unfed accusation. Why would she marry a man like that? She must be hiding something, maybe she is not a virgin maybe she cheating on him?
Usually couple will prefer to conceive a son to carry the name. Even after “economically draining” successful attempt to conceive, most clinic will encourage the couple to “get him a little sister or a brother”
Aside from the professional market, many “natural medicine” practitioners will offer false hopes for couples in the form of pills and herbal drinks. These are usually found under the classified ads sections. Or if taken to the extreme though connection to women who practice ancient treatment as a profession
I think that infertility is concedered a problem in many socities but in arab society it's a major problem which can lead to divorce in many cases. Some families in Kuwait when their son/daughter get married people first starts asking about when they're having a baby and if the married couple is not yet having a baby then people will directly think that something is wrong with the wife or her husband and if that's true then people starts causing pressure to the wife because they don't have this kind of discussion with men, they want the wife to go to clinics and have medical treatment. Sometimes people's pressure causes the husband and wife to have conflicts or problems between each other because they feel pressured which causes anger and lack of communication between both of them. That is why most married couples in Kuwait have children or their first child in less then a year because this society is used to this kind of marraige plan and if it takes more than a year people starts wondering unless the marreid couple announced or gave hints that they not want to have children yet.
ReplyDeleteProblems of infertility are not relatively new, what is in fact new are the approaches we have decided to consider. With the enlightenment of technology, and the increasing knowledge of science, we understand that there is a solution for every problem. I do see fertility clinics as a disgrace to the Kuwaiti society, au contraire I believe it only to be beneficial. People need to learn and understand that there is no shame in requiring assistance in any matter, in this case assistance to ensure the continuity of linage or what not. There could be two reasons the one I mentioned above, and increase in education, and the second one is because the Kuwaiti society is very family oriented and from a young age the idea of forming a family is embedded the need for those fertility clinics emerge in the society.
ReplyDeleteThe consequences of infertility are many, the obvious one not be able to get married. In Kuwait, everyone has to undergo specific testing before being allowed to get married; both parties have to affirm their ability to reproduce. It is important the people understand that infertility is not a predisposition in women only, men are equally affected. In extension to that, many argue that men would feel more ashamed to reveal their inability to reproduce. In my point of view, it really depends on whether the couples want to have children, indeed many will say it’s wanting children is something innate, but in many literature we find that people are happy without having children.
Women face pressure regardless of whether they are able to conceive or not. In this case, many will not be able to get married, many might even be looked down upon since bearing children is the one thing she can do to perfection. From a young age, the mother will instruct the daughter that she will have children of her own someday, that she will go through the monotonous tasks that are attached and raising children according to Islamic ways blah blah blah. So, when this woman discovers she cannot reproduce she feels somewhat inferior, and might be the cause of shame. Marriage is associated with the need of forming a family.
Kuwaitis think they can shop for just about anything and everything, so I don’t think any medical unit is exaggerating. More said, life is a business and nothing is wrong with that, if a scientist is able to provide with a solution and make a living off of that why not?
Reproduction in the Muslim Arab world is somehow essential when married couples enter the marriage world. This is because marriage is perceived in the Muslim Arab society as a first step in creating a family. There fore, once the couples get married, their families usually expect them to look forward in adding new kids to the family. So, infertility is not considered as a simple problem that couples can ignore. Families may also interfere and insist on couples to take this problem seriously.
ReplyDeleteIn some Egyptian families, infertility of a wife would be a reason that can justify a husband’s polygamy. This is because marriage is not only about love and attraction; it is also about extending a family. Working wives may somehow face some criticisms from either family by deciding to postpone her child bringing. Once the couples are married, families, relatives, and friends would always ask if there is any new news about a baby coming out. Hence, if the couples do not have any plans or working on their child brining. This would be considered deviant. So, women would also face the cultural pressure of having to get a baby as soon as she gets married.
Infertility may cause family and couple break up for the Egyptian family. Still, some couples and families would understand the situation and take it lightly. This is because child bringing is considered as one of the vital reasons behind any marriage. If a woman has fertility problems and her husband was understanding. Her family members would still be worried that the husband might marry someone else one day. This is because infertility is an accepted reason in Islam for a husband to marry another lady. On the other hand, if a husband is infertile then the woman can also be given a legal divorce. In case the wife understood his condition, the husband would always worry his wife’s dissatisfaction.
Medical transactions do not usually capitalize fears in Egypt; it depends on the hospital rate and whether it’s a private or a public hospital.
Infertility is definably seen as a problem in the Kuwaiti society. Although there are such clinics here where help is provided but with the Kuwaiti mentality it is sometimes shameful to see such kind of clinics for help. When a couple get married and later when they try for children and they find out that the women has problem giving birth, they do at times use all the medical help they can get keeping this a secret all the time. As in the Arab society the man and women are suppose to have babies and move on with their life as soon as they are married. But if such things happen and a woman is not able to give birth then the society starts to talk. So such things are always tried to be kept secret. Until there are solutions searched.
ReplyDeleteWomen are usually frightened during this period in their life; as they are scared that their husbands might fall for another women and re marry. This is also where polygamy falls in. As in Islam men are allowed to marry 4 times and this could be a strong reason they could use if they want to divorce their wife. Mostly things like this do happen in the Arab society. But then there are solutions to infertility. The couple could adopt a child, but here the hereditary stands like a problem. The child they adopted will have no blood relation to the couple and in the Kuwaiti society people will insolently not want their children not to be their own. This all makes the women feel weak and inferior in her family. It is all the pressure that is just dumped on the women just because she cannot reproduce.
I feel it is time where we need to get a bit modernized, we know for a fact that all this is not in our hand and this could happen to anybody then who be shameful to take help from clinics that provide required help to all those people who are not able to produce and even if they can’t do anything about it then we need to change our mentality about cursing and putting thr person into pressure because of his or her innate problem that they cannot fix.
In kuwait along with all arab countries infertility is considered a great problem, that cause both the man and the wife great disgrace along with their families. having children is something essential in kuwaiti/arab families. actually "traditionaly" people get married to have children. It is something extremely important to have children that carry your family name and that when you growup will take care of you. Also in islam, having children is greatly encourged.
ReplyDeleteif a women is not able to concieve, then the man ,in the eyes of the society , is justified to have a second wife, or divorce the first wife, since marriage in kuwait as i said is mainly about having children. men actually tend to marry woman whom they think will be good mothers not good wifes.
if a couple was married for a long time and they did not have a child, it is always the woman who is blamed. a wife can never tell a man you might be infertile, but the man can tell the woman. in many cases, a guy will get married 4 or 5 times believing that the problem was with his wife and not with him and he will never accept the fact that he is the one with the problem.
There are alot of fertility clinics here because as i mentioned, having children is a priority and people would do anything in order to have children. forming a family is persons priority in this region. nothing is more important than being part of a family and formig one yourself.
Infertility is a problem in the Arab society. Once the women get married she is expected to have children and start a problem. Her not being able to give birth and not start a family is definitely a pressure on her. Traditional Arab society will definitely talk about her and her infertility problems. Kuwait thus has clinics that help couples to come over the problem. But at times these medical medications do not work and the wife is left under pressure. She is always in the fear that her husband might end up marrying another woman and have children from her.
ReplyDeleteIn traditional Arab society, people believe in arrange marriages and thus they investigate everything about a girl before they take her for their son, if in that process they do not know about the women not being able to give birth. Then after marriage these issues become the cause of divorce. I personally feel there is no shame in using these clinics for infertility, but people think is it a shame to be unable to reproduce. Adoption could also be another option but then the blood kinship has no connection.
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