Nothing embarrassing about a man shaving his pregnant wife

Mary (not her real name) recalls the rude shock that awaited her when she went to hospital to give birth to her first child six years ago.

According to Mary, she had not seen her v-region for over six months as the belly had grown bigger with every passing week. As a result, the ‘bushes’ were wild and overgrown.

“When I got to the labour ward, I was utterly shocked when the male nurse on duty walked into my room, razor in hand, and told me to open up so he could shave me,” says the mother of two.

As the nurse shaved her overgrowth, she sought to find out why it had to be done.

“He said it would make the entire birthing process easier. He also told me that it was not very hygienic to keep such an overgrowth, especially in my condition,” she says, adding that this was news to her.

And now, a nurse in Homa Bay wants men to take the responsibility and cut their wives’ pubic hair.

Sarah Gowi, a nurse at Marindi Sub-County Hospital in Homa Bay County said men should take up the task to trim their partners’ overgrowth.

Gowi says many women seek delivery services when their pubic hair is long and this predisposes them to health risks. Her assertion is that the pubic hair can cause urinary tract infections (UTI) in the vaginal area.

Gowi explains that when the pubic hair is long, it leads to sweating that causes itching. When the pubic area becomes itchy, it makes a woman to scratch it, and the effect of scratching leads to permeation of bacteria.

“When a woman scratches her pubic area, there occurs transfer of particles in the form of germs. The germs can gain entry into the vagina and cause an infection like the UTI,” Gowi says.

She notes that such an infection is very dangerous especially to an expectant woman whose body immunity is low. The nurse argues that such itching occurs mostly in geographical areas which are hot.

“We live along Lake Victoria which is very hot. The hot weather causes itching on a woman who has long pubic hair,” says Gowi.

But Gowi tasks husbands with the responsibility of cutting their wives’ pubic hair. She argues that it becomes difficult for an expectant woman to bend and cut her pubic hair at advanced stages of pregnancy. Therefore, they have to be assisted.

And the only person who can assist in undertaking the role is a husband or boyfriend of the woman.

“It is important for a man to cut his wife’s pubic hair because people need to assist each other in marriage,” Gowi says. In her opinion, such a service enhances love in marriage.

“Let men allow their wives to cut their pubic hair and vice versa. This will make the couple get used to each other in provision of the service. We have discovered that people who do this enhance love in their marriages,” she adds.

She also urged men to be patient with their wives and girlfriends.

“We have discovered some men like ladies with long pubic hair during sex. However, I urge them to be patient and consider the health of their partners because what we want is cleanliness,” she adds.