Di wahala condition wey dey make pregnancy become survival battle

BBC News

13 hours ago

"I bin pray for dis pikin but at my lowest point, I bin just want make evritin end."
Wen Christabel Ngwube from Ontario, Canada, first discover say she don carry belle, she happy no be small.
For years, di 30-year-old don dey pray for baby. But her joy soon turn to despair.
Within few weeks, di excitement of pregnancy turn into serious battle wit her health.
Christabel begin experience serious feeling like say she wan vomit.
Even di smell of food dey make her sick. Soon, even to sip water dey come wit fear sake of constant vomiting.
Her symptoms bin pass morning sickness – di kain wey many dey expect during early pregnancy, typically between weeks six and 14, wen hormones like human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and estrogen dey surge.
Christabel condition bin dey far more serious.
Dem eventually diagnose her wit hyperemesis gravidarum. Dis na wahala sickness wey fit continue through out di whole 39-week pregnancy, and lead to dehydration and malnutrition.
HG don dey get more and more public attention in recent years, even high-profile figures like Catherine, Princess of Wales, share her own experience during all three of her pregnancies.
Di estimate according to UK National Health Service (NHS) be say dis condition dey affect between one and three for evri 100 pregnancies for UK.
However, health experts believe say pipo no dey too report dis condition, and dis one make am difficult to know di true extent of im impact globally.
"I bin dey starve, I dey im in pain, but I bin no fit eat," Christabel tok. "I bin no even drink becos fear dey catch me say I fit throw up."
She say di tin affect her mental health no be small. E kon leave her feeling isolated and misunderstood.
E dey challenging to get diagnosis
For many parts of di world, limited healthcare access mean say HG dey mostly dey undiagnosed.
Some women dey face cultural stigma, wia dem dey see di severe symptoms as weakness or say dem dey exaggerate.
Thousands of miles away for Abuja, Nigeria, first-time mother Nenye also no expect di seriousness of symptoms.
She bin dey expect some feeling of wanting to vomit plus fatigue - but instead she bin face relentless vomiting, serious dehydration, and frequent visit to di hospital.
Eventually she gatz collect drip.
"I bin no ever ever hear of hyperemesis gravidarum bifor," Nenye tok.
Like many first-time mothers, she initially bin no understand wetin dey happun.
Even as her condition get worse, e take time for doctors to act.
"Di consultant bin treat am as 'just morning sickness'," she remember.
But Nenye bin know say her situation no dey normal.
Even wen she dey five months pregnant, she bin still dey regularly, violently vomit.
She say no be until she begin vomit blood na im di medical team bin intervene.
Experts say HG dey particularly dey challenging to discover as im symptoms dey mostly overlap wit typical pregnancy experiences.
Dr Nkiruka Uche-Nwidagu, wey be obstetrician and gynaecologist for National Obstetric Fistula Centre, for Ebonyi, Nigeria, warn pipo make dem no dismiss HG, as as di consequences fit dey serious.
"Morning sickness fit cause nausea and vomiting, but most women go still fit go about dia daily activities and eat normally," Dr Uche-Nwidagu explain.
"HG, on di oda hand, dey tire pesin becos e go make am useless, impossible for am to do even di simplest tasks."
She warn: "[E] fit lead to serious health complications, including electrolyte imbalances wey fit no dey alarming at first but fit severely affect how organs dey take function," she explain.
Dr Adeniyi Akiseku, wey be obstetrician & gynaecologist and medical educator for PBR Life Sciences for London, say HG fit also affect di baby.
"For di baby, if dem no treat di mama on time, di lack of nutrition fit result in low birth weight, small-for-gestational-age babies, and even premature delivery."
HG dey genetic?
Studies never conclusively link hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) to congenital abnormalities.
However, Dr Marlena Fejzo, wey be researcher for University of Southern California, say strong evidence dey say familial patterns for HG suggest genetic link.
"We find one 17-fold increase risk of HG if your sister get am, for instance, supporting one genetic component," she tok.
Dr Fejzo add say women wey get HG get higher levels of di hormone GDF15 during pregnancy - one hormone wey dey help regulate inflammation, metabolism, and cell growth.
Dis women also dey genetically predisposed to lower levels bifor pregnancy.
"We don find say dis shift in hormone levels dey create hypersensitivity to di rise, triggering hyperemesis," she tok.
Treatment options
E get medicines wey dem fit prescribe for pregnancy, including di first 12 weeks, to help improve symptoms of HG. Dis one include anti-sickness (anti-emetic) drugs, steroids, or combination of both.
However, wen vomiting no fit dey controlled, women wey dey affected fit need to dey admitted for hospital for hydration and nutritional support, wey dem dey mostly give through drip.
Medical experts tell BBC say patients fit need make dem monitor dem closely to address complications like electrolyte imbalances.
Mental health support dey equally important. Di psychological toll of HG fit last far beyond delivery.
According to Dr Akiseku, for extreme cases, HG fit lead to lasting psychological effects like anxiety and depression.
Nenye say she endure months of physical and emotional torture, and even afta she born finish, di effects of HG still dey.
"I bin no look like mysef again," she explain. "Pipo continue to dey ask me why my skin dey look so pale. HG completely drain me."
"I tink isolation contribute to di postpartum depression wey I suffer later," she add.
Severe cases fit require additional therapy. Psychological support also fit dey required to help women cope wit di lasting effects of di condition.
Dr Uche-Nwidagu stress di need for more awareness as HG dey usually happun witout pipo noticing, meaning many women dey suffer in silence.
Immediate intervention na key to managing di condition and preventing serious health risks to both mama and pikin - not only to reduce di suffering, but mainly to save lives.