I had since my childhood days, as far as I can remember, always wanted to be a
doctor.. And I very much loved kids, and I still do.. So I always wanted to be
a “child specialist”–that’s what I knew it was called.. 😛 As I got
older, I came to know that there was something called MBBS and then there was
an MD Pediatrics and that’s when u become a “child specialist”..

Becoming a doctor has always been an exciting thing for me.. Knowing the human body,
meant knowing  oneself.. Even the idea of
treating and helping others seemed such a noble job!  Moreover I amused myself with the fact that I
was born on 8th May!! World Red Cross Day!! 😛 Doesn’t get better does it! 😀 I
was good in mathematics, physics and computer science! Every reason to become
an engineer!! A software engineer (I still like programming if I get the tools
though) perhaps.. But I chose medical!

As I learnt biology, my interest in medical science grew.. I got into MBBS and my
life changed! I realized something that I am gonna share with my readers (you).
The question that hammered me: Are doctors disrupting/changing the natural
course of evolution? Is treating and intervening in every possible medical
situation ethical? Ethical in what sense you might ask.. Read on..

People fall sick every time in their lifetime.. In ancient times, it was thought to be
a punishment by God.. But as science developed, the medical fraternity came
into being.. Healing and taking cure of the sick.. Not a very major thing.. But
as it developed, and in today’s corporate world, doctor is also a profession
that is trying to reap profits.. Profits?? Yeah.. Not in a major way, but a
subtle inevitable way…

One thing I always heard from my parents as a child.. Mom used to wonder, “how many
number of diseases has increased in the recent years..!??” and Dad would
give the most logical reply I believed, “Actually new knowledge of many
unknown diseases has increased which couldn’t be diagnosed earlier..” I
marveled at the science as I believed in knowledge. Always had a hunger for new
knowledge.. And then I read this research on “why the incidence of
Cesarean Section has increased in the recent years?”

My first reaction to the question was, “Ah! The ladies these days.. They can’t
tolerate pain! They want it the easy way.. Who wants to suffer the pain of a
normal labor!! I mean if u were to know that NL(normal labor) will cause pain,
u would happily prefer anesthesia and undergo CS(cesarean section).. So while
you are sleeping, you get yourself a baby.. Nice and easy!” ALAS! I was
wrong.. One of the researchers had actually suggested this, but had been
rejected by a new more relevant reason.. According to the newer reason, babies
born to CS done in the past, directly or indirectly increased the incidence of
CS in the future.. For doing a CS there are some indications.. A group of these
indications are called ABSOLUTE INDICATIONS.. These are considered important..
As in, if these mothers are given a trial of normal labor, the baby could die….
Think of it this way.. If natural selection was considered, these babies were
NOT MEANT TO BE BORN!!!  So?? Doctors
help in giving birth to babies that were not meant to be born! For example, a
thing called “contracted pelvis”.. A mother with contracted pelvis
will have a child, who, if female, in turn will have a contracted pelvis
herself, further being a future candidate of CS herself!! When considered the
population and other indications, such determined “future
indications” of CS increase manifold.. Well I donno what YOUR reaction is,
I was pretty much shaken!! Since, I applied this to other diseases as well!

And this applies mainly to the branches related to Obstetrics and Pediatrics, I think..
Take for example a congenital disease that is treated so that the child lives
up to reproductive age and gives offspring.. His/her children will have the
same disease maybe or maybe a carrier.. And future candidates for another
congenital anomaly.. But this is just a “what if?”.. I am yet to come
across any research related to this.. But I’ve seen infants going hypoxic and
doctors trying in vain to keep the kid alive.. And, of course, they do manage
to keep the kids alive.. But what about the long duration hypoxia? It could
have destroyed some part of the brain.. This baby could grow up to become
mentally retarded or have epilepsy! Future candidates.. So what do u do? Let
’em die!!! That’s not ethical!! But keeping alive a child with a hereditary
disease, who might have a miserable life ahead, or may give birth to abnormal
children in the future, is that ethical?

I think, doctors have “artificially” manipulated the whole path of
“natural” evolution… I was so conflicted!! I hated for becoming a
doctor.. I was always curious about learning things, mostly nature and its
beauty.. But manipulating, and increasing diseases, well I felt awful!

But then I matured.. Call it maturity, or call it “accepting the status quo”..
I thought, well, we are humans, right? We are a part of Nature too, right? So
even if we manipulate, it’s not strictly speaking “artificial”, now
is it? So it’s a “natural” thing.. 😉 Maybe it was MEANT TO BE this
way.. 😀 I don’t hate myself for being a doctor now..:)

Well this was a journey for me.. Thought of sharing, so that even you could think on it
and wonder and wander.. 😀

Ciao! 🙂