Childbirth in the New Normal

When a woman gives birth, it is a joyful event. The roller coaster ride of pregnancy is finally over. The feeling of seeing your baby for the first time is ecstatic. Yet, little did we know that giving birth requires so much preparation may it be physically, mentally, and financially.

 

 

This year was tough for the fact that the virus is existing. The pandemic changed the accustomed lives of the people that includes delivering a baby. Before the pandemic, giving birth is a smooth sailing process. The pregnant woman goes to the hospital and will be waiting in the labor room until her cervix is fully dilated. She will be in the delivery room where there is plenty of staff. Once the baby is out, the mother is ready to be transferred to her chosen accommodation – ward, semi-private room, or private room. If there are no complications with the baby, the baby joins the mother in the room accommodation. Relatives and friends of the woman who gave birth will then visit the hospital whenever they want to congratulate the mother and welcome the baby. However, this child delivery routine changed a whole lot this year.

 

In this pandemic time, childbirth is much more complicated and expensive. Physicians, nurses, and other medical staff that will assist the patient are required to wear a Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at all times. This personal protective gear is being charged to the patient’s bill. Another thing that makes childbirth complicated and expensive is because hospitals now require rapid test/ swab tests for everyone who is trying to get admitted. Swab test in the Philippines costs 3,500-6,500 per head. If the person shows signs of fever and cough, then there is a big possibility that the hospital will reject you and transfer you to a Covid isolation facility while waiting for your swab test result to come out. So, imagine being pregnant going through labor and in isolation, is such a hassle? Bills in the hospital are also much higher now because of sanitation costs. For example, in one hospital in the Philippines - the ward package before the pandemic was just 14,000 pesos, but recently it has been raised to 16,000 pesos. All these factors are the reason why most pregnant women prefer to give birth in lying in’s instead than in the hospital because it is much cheaper and not that risky.

 

Even though the process seems to be different now than what we have been used to, we have no choice but to go along, for it is part of the new normal. Pregnant women are one of those vulnerable sectors that are much affected by this pandemic. Giving birth at this time is much riskier than before. One should prepare in all aspects.

 

 

Contributor/Article by: JC 

Edited by: NjA 
NjA Art 

Photography: Kelvin Octa

@pexels.com 

(free to use photo - no attribution required but prefer to give credits to the website and artist for their expertise)

The Rise of Plant Enthusiasts during the Pandemic

 

        The pandemic caused many disruptions in peoples' lives - closed businesses, canceled trips, lockdown, and many more. Yet, people are anxious to move on with their lives. As for today, let us set aside the negative impact of the pandemic on people. Instead, we will take a quick look at some of the positive outcomes.

      

          One of the effects of quarantine was that it brought families closer. Before the pandemic, it was hard to gather families together because of the busy schedule at work or school. However, when the door of a busy life closed, the window for rekindling family relationships opened. Another impact of lockdowns is that people focused on new hobbies. In the Philippines, along with the rise of virus cases, is the upsurge of what we call "Plantitos or Plantitas." These are people who love to collect and nurture plants.

        

          Having plants at home is said to be good for our mental health. It is undeniably relaxing to see different kinds of plants in and around our homes. Plants can also help keep the temperature balanced. Taking care of plants is also helpful in reducing anxiety. Most of us are anxious about our current situation as to what is going on with the world. 

          But when we are busy with plants, it becomes a great way to keep our sanity. Those who were jobless found themselves preoccupied with growing flowers, which seems suitable for their mental health. It gives them a sense of fulfillment once they see the flowers they planted in full bloom. In addition to this, being a Plantito and Plantita made them broaden their circle and gain new connections. Since a growing number of Filipinos find this hobby interesting, it became more relatable among communities. Some even found new friends by sharing their experiences in growing their plants. At the same time, others could use their new skills for "bartering" and as a source of income. Filipinos who have a lot of rare plants seem to have the highest gross income and have one of the most saleable products in the market.

 

        Plant enthusiasts make the world more pleasant despite the circumstances in which we have now. Growing plants has proven to effectively free us from the anxiety that this pandemic has caused.

Contributor/Article by: JC 

Edited by: NjA 
NjA Art & Photography

The First Family

            When we say The First Family, it refers to the President of one country or nation. But the first family was originated from God when He first created Adam from the dust, and God saw it was not satisfactory for a man to be alone of all the creations God created were very good except for man. And God allowed Adam to fall into a deep sleep, and he got from his rib a woman and named her Eve to become a helpmate for Adam. God blessed them with three children Cain, Abel, and Seth.

            God’s plan for a family was good and perfect but destroyed by the disobedience of Eve and Adam about God’s will regard the entrusted creations to them mainly about the tree of life and the tree of knowledge at the middle of the Garden of Eden not to eat their fruits. God clearly instructed them to eat everything except the tree of life and the tree of knowledge. But Satan tempted Eve by deceiving her that when she eats the fruit, she will become like God (Genesis 3:1-7) Eve is tempted in three things. First, The lust of the eyes. Genesis 3:6 {And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat} Secondly, The lust of the flesh. {that the tree was good for food} Lastly, about the pride of life, {and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit} this was the beginning that God’s goodness and a perfect plan were destroyed by not obeying the instructions of God. 

            Many questioned this text by asking this question, “Who sinned first, Adam or Eve? This question gave us the right answer. It was not Eve God directly gave the command not to eat the fruit of knowledge between right and wrong. {Gen 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: Genesis 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.} In this passage, before God, created the woman, He already instructed Adam not to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge he will surely die. What kind of death will be the punishment to Adam and Eve? It was physical and spiritual death. It ended up their lives were shortened. Then in Genesis Chapter 3, Adam was with Eve during the temptation. Eve gave Adam the fruit and did not rebuke or tell his wife about the consequence of eating the tree of knowledge. God gave Adam the responsibility and accountability to take care of and protect His wife from living a sinful life. Adam might prevent Eve from being tempted by Satan, and we should not reap the consequences now about sin. Dr. Joseph Tan, in his book, the Christian Family, after sin entered the world, Satan began to attack marriage. His all-out effort was to try to crush relationships because he knew it was the foundation of right human relations. By destroying relationships at their prime level, which is the home, Satan hoped to devastate society.

            From the records of the book of Genesis, we observed that after the fall, Satan systematically tried to corrupt God’s design for marriage and family by: 

1.     Polygamy-Genesis 4:19,23

2.     Sexual thoughts and words-Genesis 9:22

3.     Adultery-Genesis 16:1-3

4.     Homosexuality-Genesis 19:4-22

5.     Fornication and rape-Genesis 34:1-2

6.     Incest-Genesis 38:13-18

7.     Prostitution-Genesis 38:24

8.     Seduction-Genesis 39:7-12 

            It is imperative to understand how the fallen nature, the curse on the physical world, and the attack hell’s agents are determined to destroy the first family and the coming generations of families.

 

Contributor/Article by: Armando D. Fermin 

Edited by: NjA 

NjA Art & Photography

Is this Pandemic The End of the World?

 

            Corona Virus 2019 was feared by the majority of the people around the world because of its deadliness. Many scientists are still looking for a cure, a vaccine that will cure the infected to avoid massive deaths.

 

            The virus started in Wuhan, China, last November 2019, killed many people, and had a massive spread over the world in just a period. The majority of the people were confused, paranoid, afraid, and above all economy was affected, lots of people lost their jobs due to companies temporarily closing down their businesses.

 

            People asked questions like: Is this start of the end of the world? Why the Lord allowed this to happen? Is He punishing his most loved creations the human beings? 

 

            There are different views on this circumstance about the Pandemic. Others said it was God’s way of disciplining the world for all people to go back to him and repent. Some said it is just a natural calamity that happens in the pasts, same as the Antonine Plague in 165-180. The Roman Empire experienced this in that five to ten million people died lasted for fifteen years. The Bubonic Plague or the Plague of Justinian in 541-542 that fifty percent of the population of Europe from twenty-five to one hundred million died.

 

        Now and still counting one million-plus people who have died so far from the COVID-19 outbreak as of November 2020. Sounds not quite a lot but, numbers add up quickly.

 

        What does the Bible say about this Pandemic? Matthew 24:1-44 answered this question. Is this Pandemic the end of the world? In the passage prophesied thousands of years ago, when Jesus Christ, the son of the Living God, was with his disciples, the disciples were asking that when would be the end of the world. God answered their query by giving them signs about His second coming before the end of the world. First, about the deceptions by false Christ and false prophets. It is happening now that many false Christ claimed to be a god. Secondly, about wars and rumors of wars were happening in the world today, and nations against nations will fight. Then famines and earthquakes almost everywhere. Finally, persecutions and tribulations of the followers of Christ through martyrdom and others will be cold in their faith and left the faith.

 

 

Contributor/Article by: Armando D. Fermin 
Edited by: NjA 
NjA Art & Photography 

Online Selling in the New Normal

 

Everyone was not ready for the pandemic – the busy life that we have been used to suddenly stopped. Losing jobs, closing businesses, canceled flights; we all didn’t see this coming. Some people started to panic while some are doing all possible means to survive.

            According to the recent record of the Department of Labor and Employment in the Philippines, 40% of Filipino workers lost their job, 25% of them are mostly from hotels and restaurants that shut down and 15% are from small businesses. For some that have been jobless found a new start and that is online selling.  Almost everything now is available on social media - from medical supplies such as face shields and face masks to food delicacies and even plants. Online grocery shopping also is now booming since it’s very dangerous to go to the market because of the rising number of the virus positive cases every day. Business establishments that were closed also found a new way to reach their customers and that is through online selling. They just post their products on social media and deliver it right to their customer’s doorstep. The lockdown in the country is a major factor why there was a rise in Filipino online sellers - may it be a small-time seller or a big one.

During the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in the Philippines, Filipinos are not allowed to go outside their houses – that is when online selling became a total hit. Customers won’t have to go out to buy whatever they want, all they have to do is log in to social media and transact with the seller, the seller then contacts an authorized rider to deliver the order of the customer and the customer will pay it upon delivery. Contactless delivery is also available, where customers use their credit or debit cards to pay the seller and when the rider delivers their order, they will just leave it in a certain place. In this way, the rider and the buyer won’t have any contact which made most Filipino customers at ease and feel safe.

Online transactions didn’t stop after ECQ, it continued even after the lockdown most especially that some Filipinos are already back to work and they already have money to spend shopping. Another factor why it continued to be a hit is because of the upsurge of Filipinos that work from home who do not have time to go out anymore and finds it more convenient to order online. Apart from social media platforms, numerous online shopping applications in the Philippines have been very useful as well such as Lazada, Shopee, Foodpanda, Grabfood, etc. Online selling is a big help because malls were closed for a long time.

There were success stories of Filipinos who have been laid off from work but started selling various products online and now earning much higher than their salary before. Using social media as a platform for reaching customers has been proven effective and safe. Online selling may already be normal to other countries but not in the Philippines – not until this year. Online selling proved that the pandemic will not hinder anyone from gaining income. This just shows that as humans we never stop to be hopeful in whatever challenges we may face.

 

Contributor/Article by: JC  
Edited by: NjA 
NjA Art & Photography 

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