Mother of five amplifies need for awareness

Sep 22, 2015 News

– in wake of “worrying” spate of maternal deaths

“Worrying,” is the description offered by Mia Ritchie of the recent spate of reported maternal deaths. The woman who is a mother of five is of the belief that there is a crucial need for health workers to direct keen attention to monitoring pregnant women and ensuring that they are aware of the pre-conditions that could lead to some life threatening complications.

Mia Ritchie

Ritchie suspects that the troubling spate of maternal deaths is linked to the fact that many women are not screened for pre-natal diseases.
She, during an interview, alluded to the condition of pre-eclampsia. Pre-eclampsia is described as a pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure and signs of damage to another organ system, often the kidneys.
According to Ritchie, she was a victim of pre-eclampsia during each of her pregnancies. She first experienced the condition 14 years ago while she was pregnant with her eldest child in the United States. “I went to the clinic and my blood pressure was high but they didn’t say anything. Two weeks later I had to go back and it was high again and they admitted me…That was the first time that I found out what pre-eclampsia was,” said Ritchie who disclosed by this time her condition was severe.
At the time she was close to seven months pregnant.
She was in pain but was not eligible for an epidural which is said to be the most commonly used method of pain relief for labour in the United States.
By the time she was on to her second pregnancy Ritchie was well aware of the possible pre-conditions of pre-eclampsia. “I was also monitored closely,” she disclosed as she related that the condition she endured might have been brought on by a stressful situation she was subjected to.
In addition to high blood pressure, the symptoms of the condition can include headaches and blurry vision both of which Ritchie experienced. It can also include rapid weight gain caused by significant increase in bodily fluid, abdominal pain, change in reflexes, reduced urine or no urine output, dizziness and excessive vomiting and nausea.
“The Guyanese society needs to be sensitized to this issue,” said Ritchie as she made reference to a recent maternal death which had all the signs of late onset pre-eclampsia.
One of the main factors that pregnant women can do to help protect themselves from pre-eclampsia, which could cause their pregnancy to become high risk, is to stay away from too much sodium. She also emphasized that “women need to tell their doctors what they are experiencing; don’t take it for granted that it is something else,” she warned.
“As long as the women know and they ask questions…things could be different but we are lacking in that area. People don’t ask questions, they just take medications and they go home; they don’t stop to find out why something happened and we have to change that culture,” said Ritchie.
She said that yet another life threatening condition that pregnant women can suffer is placenta praevia. This is a condition in which the placenta partially or wholly blocks the neck of the uterus thereby interfering with the normal delivery of the baby.