Pre-eclampsia is a condition which normally presents as a combination of high blood pressure, excessive swelling, and protein in the urine of a pregnant woman. It usually happens towards the end of pregnancy; but can also start much earlier. It is a serious condition, which if left untreated can result in eclampsia; where the associated complications can affect the brain and cause seizures. The only way to treat pre-eclampsia is to deliver the baby. However, if the pregnancy is still early, the woman will be closely monitored, until a time when the baby is old enough to be born, either by inducing labour or through a cesaerean section.
What most people don’t realize is that pre-eclampsia can also happen after delivery. The condition can show up some days after delivery, even after the mother has been discharged from the hospital. This type of pre-eclampsia is known as postpartum pre-eclampsia.
A Nigerian mom, Nene Chidimma Kayla Ezike, who recently had a baby, shared her experience with the condition which started a few days after putting to bed.
She says she developed pre-eclampsia while pregnant, and her baby had to be delivered well before her due date.
“I had gone for my doctor’s visit on Holy Thursday and after checking my vitals, the doctor declared I was to be admitted. Reason? My blood pressure was high and that was a bad sign in pregnancy. There was no contest from me or the family. Saturday, baby was born after 11 hours plus of induction. Baby arrived a full 3 weeks before his ETA.Well, I was given a clean bill of health and discharged the next day with the full complement of anti hypertensive medications and the merriment started”.
While still basking in the euphoria of the safe arrival of her child, Nene quickly developed symptoms of pre-eclampsia yet again, which she mindlessly shrugged off as postpartum stress. She never imagined it could be postpartum pre-eclampsia, because she was taking her hypertensive medication. Sadly, she was soon to find out how wrong her assumptions were:
“On the second day post delivery, I was still feeling tired and light headed and my feet were swollen but I put it down to post natal stress that would go away with sleep. First mistake. Day 3- Slight headache. Some colleagues came visiting and took my BP reading. It was relatively alright and since i was taking my medications, it wasn’t an issue. How wrong I was. Well, mum came to spend some time and was badgering me about my swollen feet and the other symptoms I kept complaining about but I kept assuring her that I had a visit due with the doctor soon and that I would tell him everything. Besides, I was faithfully sticking to my medications as prescribed.This continued until ten days post partum. I was so dizzy I couldn’t stand straight. My head was pounding like a bass drum. And my feet were still swollen so mum suggested I sleep which I did. She and hubby decided not to play along with me anymore so he paid my doctor a visit and told him my symptoms. The doctor then sent for me.Once I got to the clinic and tried to get into the consulting room, he flipped. ‘This woman. You want to die Abi? Go check your BP first, then come.’ My vitals were checked and I knew there was trouble when the nurse shook her head. I asked her to give me the reading but she refused and hustled me into the doctor’s consulting room. There and then a decision was made by the doctor and his team. I was being admitted immediately and kept under observation and strict bed rest with treatment. My BP? 180/120!!!! Even I shouted at that! My phones were taken away. My baby placed with my mum and on formula. I was placed on a cocktail of pills and injectables for 3 days and two nights. Even the telly in my hospital room was disabled. I was just ordered to sleep, eat, pee and take medications. It was a horrific experience for me and my family. Well, the BP was monitored keenly and when it was stabilized on the 3rd day, I was discharged again with another drug cocktail and strict warning to adhere to my bed rest. And I’m doing that”…
It is important to note how having an informed and proactive support system around her played a vital role in saving her life. Had it been her mom or her husband hadn’t insisted she went to the hospital, it would have been a different story by now. This is why public health education is very important. While you educate yourself, ensure the people around you are equally educated, you never know the day their knowledge will come in handy.
Good enough, she learnt a lot of lesson from this incidence:
“I was careless. And foolish. Of course I knew better but I assumed too much. The doctor eventually explained that on coming into the clinic, I was seconds away from a stroke or some other hypertensive crisis and that it appears I wasn’t getting enough rest at home. On getting those symptoms the first time, I should have gone back to the clinic for further observation and avoided all that drama. I came face to face with my own mortality and it is not wisdom. Don’t be like me. Now, I know better. If it quacks like a duck, it obviously is a duck!!!!!”
Consequently, Nene took it upon herself to educate other Nigerian women via her Facebook page; thereby creating massive awareness about the condition.
Now, here are the things she would like you to know:
“Just like you have pre eclampsia which I talked about in the other edition, there is post eclampsia.(Your gynae is your friend). I had high blood pressure and to avoid pre-eclampsia, I was monitored, induced and I had my baby. No stress. But my doctor explained that sometimes the toxins that cause this blood pressure to rise take a while to clear from the system. In the meantime, they cause eclamptic fits, increased blood pressure and some other symptoms. My case was a hit and miss because if I hadn’t come in when I did, I would have had a fit or a stroke or something worse and then survival would have been less than 50%. Then all that joy would have turned to sadness. This is my testimony. If you don’t take anything away from this, please take this saying. If it quacks like a duck, it is obviously a duck!!”
We appreciate her boldness in coming onto social media to share her personal experience. The outreach has been immense.
Source: Nene Chidimma Kayla Ezike/Facebook.
