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KAMPALA - Speaking at the launch of the 10-day intense advocacy against pre-eclampsia on May 13, 2024, at Kawempe National Referral Hospital, the Ministry of Health permanent secretary Diana Atwine called up all men to join the fight against pre-eclampsia.

Atwine said that even though pre-eclampsia affects pregnant women, men are the leading cause of it and can be a pivot to end it.

“You (men) contribute to making them pregnant. That is number one. You also contribute by not supporting them when she's cooking, she has children, she has to fetch water and you men are busy yapping.

Men are busy in bars, chatting, and catching up with their colleagues. You are not at home to help your woman who is pregnant and at the same time, who has this life-threatening condition.” Atwine said.

According to Atwine, emphasis should be put on the importance of early antenatal care given the critical need to detect complications early to mitigate the potential damage from high blood pressure which causes gross harm to both pregnancy and other vital organs such as the kidneys.

She said attention should also be put on the significance of robust family support, particularly from male partners.

According to health experts, expecting mothers should continue having postnatal care, or visiting the health facilities.

“Once the pressure goes up, the blood circulation into the kidney starts reducing, and the kidney is very sensitive to low pressures of blood, and therefore it starts failing. When it starts failing, the toxins that are supposed to be expelled out of the body start accumulating in the body” she added.

Pre-eclampsia is the second leading cause of maternal death in Uganda. This usually has no symptoms until one goes for a check-up in a health centre and they find you have high blood pressure.

Severe features that require one to be admitted include headache, blurring of vision, pain in the upper outer quadrant, swelling of the body especially the legs, and then once you ignore this condition, then you start getting fits, or seizures and it's usually the whole body.

Prof. Annet Nakimuli, the chairperson Pre-Eclampsia National Committee, said many times, that mothers are delivered prematurely and the babies die most of the time because of prematurity.

Nakimuli said pre-eclampsia contributes a quarter of the premature babies we see in the hospitals so if addressed, we are also likely to improve the maternal deaths.

According to health experts, expecting mothers should continue having postnatal care, or visiting the health facilities.

Mothers are advised to be checked at six hours, checked at six days, and checked also at six weeks as a must. Those are the three postnatal care visits that are recommended. The blood pressure can actually increase when you're in this period, that's called the postpartum period according to health experts.

Pre-eclampsia complicates 2-8% of pregnancies around the world, and it is responsible for 9% of maternal deaths in Africa and Asia.

Globally, the majority of pregnancy-related hypertensive disorder deaths occur in developing countries.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the incidence of pre-eclampsia in developing countries is seven times higher (2.8% of live births) than in more developed countries (0.4%).

Preeclampsia is a complication of pregnancy. Preeclampsia may cause high blood pressure, proteinuria, or other signs of organ damage. Preeclampsia usually develops after 20 weeks of pregnancy in women whose blood pressure was previously within normal range.

Pre-eclampsia may develop after the delivery of a baby, a condition known as postpartum preeclampsia.

Experts highlight Preeclampsia in the previous pregnancy, pregnancy with multiple babies, type 1 or type 2 diabetes prior to pregnancy, kidney disease, autoimmune disorders, and use of in vitro fertilisation as the leading conditions associated with an increased risk of getting preeclampsia.