Pregnancy-related hypertension has destroyed lives and households as a silent killer that many sufferers have failed to recognise.
According to Koiwah Koi-Larbi, one of these victims, "I am a four-time preeclampsia survivor with only one surviving child, my second child, and I am still waiting for the Ghana Health Service to support me to have another child because I love babies."
Although it was not easy there either, she said, "I was lucky to give birth to my surviving kid in the United States of America (USA), where treatment happens to be more sophisticated.
Preeclampsia has surpassed bleeding (haemorrhage), which is now second on the list, to become the main cause of maternal death in the nation. It is a disorder that, during pregnancy, produces a sharp increase in blood pressure and an overabundance of protein in the urine. Headaches, palpitations, and swollen feet have all been reported as symptoms in the past.
According to statistics collected by the Ghana Health Service on maternal fatalities in medical institutions, 102 women died in 2022 for every 100,000 live births, with preeclampsia accounting for the majority of these deaths.
The United Nations' Inter-Agency Support Group calculated that the nation lost 308 expecting women out of every 100,000 live births in connection to maternal mortalities documented both within and outside of health facilities based on its most recent survey in 2020.
Preeclampsia is thought to be responsible for roughly 21% of the varied fatality rates.
Story of a survivor
Koiwah said that during the first trimester of her first pregnancy in 2012, she had all the signs and symptoms of preeclampsia, such as headaches and swollen feet, but she was unaware of what it was.
She said that despite being a frequent visitor to prenatal appointments, she was kept in the dark about what was taking place.
When I was about 27 weeks pregnant, I experienced a severe headache, but my husband assumed I simply needed rest, so I went to bed. Around two in the morning, I could only hear people calling me Koiwah, Koiwah.
"I was told that I had been ill and had been rushed to a private hospital nearby, but they refused to take me because they did not want a mortality case to be recorded there because of the severity." After stabilising me, they sent me to a public facility.
Fortunately, a night surgeon at the public hospital performed an urgent caesarean procedure since my blood pressure was really high.
Obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr. Chris Fofie is in charge of the Ghana Health Service's Safe Motherhood Programme.
When I regained consciousness 24 hours after giving birth, I asked about my son and was told that he had been sent to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). When I first met him, he weighed less than a kilogramme. We ultimately lost the child, Koiwah stated.
Six months later, she became pregnant, and since she was so concerned about the baby's life, she sought medical attention in the United States of America.
Before she left the country, Ms. Koi-Larbi attended five months of prenatal care, and 30 weeks into her pregnancy, preeclampsia symptoms reappeared.
I received two emergency room admissions while being closely monitored. My lone surviving kid from the four pregnancies had to be born at 37 weeks, and the baby girl is now almost 10 years old, the woman stated.
Following that, Ms. Koi-Larbi claimed she gave birth again in 2017 and 2019, but their survival was difficult due to the disease.
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