Broadcaster Begho Debuts Initiative, To Mark World Pre- Eclampsia Day

POPULAR Nigerian broadcaster, Shine Begho is taking off her awareness campaign on Pre- eclampsia/ Eclampsia, a dangerous pregnancy complication characterised by high blood pressure. This can lead to serious and fatal complications for both mother and child.

The Shine Begho Initiative for preeclampsia/ eclampsia awareness was an initiative the radio and TV host has worked on since 2016 after she surviving the condition.

Narrating her ordeal, Begho poignantly recounted, “In April 2016, I was hospitalised after suffering high blood pressure for two months. The hospital had managed my condition until my eighth month. After my last test, the doctor looked at the result and told me that my time was up, that according to the test, I had less than 24 hours to live; if I didn’t do an emergency operation, I was going to die with my unborn child.

“Hence, I had to undergo an emergency C- section. Unfortunately, my son didn’t survive, he died 11 days after.”

Begho recalled that she heard an earful of sad stories of women who didn’t survive the condition along with their unborn child from the nurses during the period she was hospitalised.

“I was diagnosed with this silent killer during my antenatal appointment and was managed by the hospital,” she recalled.

“Sadly I can’t say the same for the women who could not afford antenatal care and had to go home to deal with this deadly condition they know nothing about, therefore dying and taking along with them their unborn child to the afterlife.”

She noted that approximately 34 per cent of pregnant women in Nigeria receive no antenatal care, and are thereby at higher risk of maternal mortality.

“A lot of awareness and improvement in our primary health care for ante- natal will help curb these deaths, by doing routine screening for these risk factors. For now, the only hospitals doing these routine checks are the private hospitals,” she submitted.

On May 22, World Pre- eclampsia day, Begho affirmed that she would be going around with her team and doctors to spread the word about pre- eclampsia to pregnant mums, educating them about the symptoms of the condition which include swelling of hands and feet, severe headaches or visual flashing lights, rising blood pressure and protein in the urine.

Emphasizing the fact that pre- eclampsia has no cure and usually leads to the delivery of preterm babies, she advised pregnant women to take ante- natal care appointments very seriously. “It is through ante- natal tests that high blood pressure and urine protein can be detected,” she said.

Begho, who further avowed that the ulterior objective of the Shine Begho Initiative is to save the lives of expectant mothers and their babies, unveiled the programme to be executed on May 22.

“We will not only talk about Pre- eclampsia/ eclampsia, but we will also be sponsoring free ante- natal care for women who cannot afford the service,” she disclosed.

Calling on the public to join her in saving the lives of mother and child by donating a minimum of N1000 to the cause, she further disclosed that the Initiative has partnered with some organisations including the African Seed Foundation and Padimi. com