MORE THAN 28 OF 1000 INFANTS BORN IN SIAYA COUNTY DIE OF PRE-ECLAMPSIA YEARLY

Over 28 of 1000 infants born in Siaya County dies annually due to pre-eclampsia attack to the mother during pregnancy.

This was revealed during a ceremony on 22 may 2024, a day that was set to celebrate pre-eclampsia day as Siaya County joined the world in the celebration.

Speaking during the ceremony held at Sega Vocational Training Centre in ugenya asub- county in Siaya, Beryl Otieno,health personnel revealed some of the signs of the conditions.

“It is characterized by high blood pressure that keeps rising above the normal level,swelling body and abnormal increase in body weight and nausea which might be accompanied by vomiting and many more.” She said.

However the disease as revealed by health personal endangers the life of a pregnant mother through weakening the body joints, a condition that forces of the foetus from the womb before the time of birth and placed to grow out of the womb through incubator.

“The doctor might also decide that the mother shouldn’t be left with the pregnancy for the usual nine months hence this results into admission for further examination by the doctors,who on realizing the condtion is about to interfere with the kidney will have to remove the foutus and kept in a nursery to grow out of the uterus before the time of birth is reached for the safety of the mother.” She added.

Dr. Beryl also urged the men to support women during their times of pregnancy due to the fact that the condition drains them psychologically.

She further thanked Siaya couty government that she says has equipped the community health workers with the best tools for preventing and testing mere diseases among pregnant women and take actions.

According to a survivor, one Christine Ong’injo who is also a health personnel, some signs are noticed in the urine of women with the same condition.

She said the preventive measure for the disease is to avoid fatty too foods  and visiting clinics 8 times during the pregnancy.

On the other hand is Symprose Okinda, a veteran Kenyan journalist who took to her social media how she fought the condition in 2021 which resulted to her having an emergency which led to her baby being removed from the womb before the time of birth.

“In November 2021,I was heavily,mark the word heavily, pregnant .

I was big and puffy and more oftenly people would make fun of my chubbyness.

Naturally am big so plus the baby I wasn’t bothered by such comments coz I knew it was just a matter of time before I would go back to my normal weight.

All this while I was attending all my ANC clinics that portrayed that baby and I were healthy and moving on well.” She said.

“Somehow I had some watery discharge but never raised any flags coz I thought it was the normal sweating,so much happens during pregnancy you know

It was untill I had an emergency and rushed to the hospital that I was diagnosed with #preeclampsia ,a dangerous pregnancy condition characterised by high blood pressure.

Luckily for me,I had a successful emergency Cs and had a preterm baby who is currently healthy and living a normal life.Amen” Added Okinda.

Okinda now a happy mother went a head to ask people to be keepers of their neighbours, friends or relatives in order to curb the consequences that might result fro pre-eclampsia condition.