To Be or Not . . .

. . . to be pregnant.

For the most part, the ability to get pregnant relies on a couple's physiological and psychological make-up. In the past, the inability to conceive meant the end of the road, and so our great ancestors called upon divine help.

But as reproductive science flourished, dances and chants to the fertility gods, around burning embers on a moonlit night, became confined to the movies. And fertility statues are now stuffed in museums and roadshows like Ripley's believe it or not.

The dances, chants and statues did not come with a price. They do today considering the entrance fees to museums, just to get to touch the big-bellied and big-bossomed statues. Once that is done, the next step would be to pray and pray and, of course, have sex. Then wait till you get pregnant.

For a sure-fire way to get pregnant, couples must now leave it up to the gods of medical science. A lot of ways have now been developed to help couples conceive. But unlike the traditional means, modern methods come with a stiff price.

In an article from the New York Times, Leigh Todd reportedly spent four years and $300,000 to have a baby. She saw 10 doctors and sought help at medical clinics in New York, Chicago and Las Vegas.

Three hundred thousand dollars. That's already 16.5 million pesos. Filipinos would perhaps choose to keep the money than to have a child, which brings me to the topic of how NOT to get pregnant.

In this area, there are a lot of cheap and effective means. The most recent of which is the morning-after pill. It is of a higher dose of regular hormonal contraception. Taken within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse, it can cut a woman's chances of pregnancy by up to 89 percent. For men, a 100% effective male contraceptive is on the development stage. It is also a hormonal treatment, which is a combination of an implant under the skin and injections.

However, some means of not getting pregnant are rather expensive. Our neighbor paid 50,000 yen to end Nana's motherly dreams. 50, 000 yen! That's again 25,000 pesos. Some Filipinos will just opt for withdrawal or rhythm. And come to think of it, Nana is just a dog.