By Mercy Arthur
Tema, July 2, GNA – Pregnant women have been advised to do their best to reduce such stress, as failure to do so could lead to higher blood pressure.
High blood pressure, in turn, could endanger their lives and that of their babies.
Stress is one of the risk factors for hypertension in pregnancy, and therefore pregnant women should avoid acts and inactions that are likely to aggravate their stress levels. Dr. Derrick Darko, a Medical Officer at the International Maritime Hospital (IMaH) at Tema, has stated.
Dr Darko gave the warning at “Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility! A Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Office,” initiative aimed at promoting communication on health-related topics and setting the medium for the propagation of health information to influence personal health choices by improving health literacy.
The GNA-Tema: Your Health! Our Concern initiative also serves as a public health advocacy platform initiated to explore the parameters of the four approaches to health communication: informative, educating, persuasive, and prompting.
Speaking on the topic; “Hypertension in Pregnancy”, Dr. Darko indicated that other risk factors for developing hypertension in pregnancy include the age of the woman (35 years and above), obesity, first-time pregnancy, family history, a high salt and fat diet, and a lazy lifestyle.
Dr. Darko indicated that hypertension in pregnancy could lead to preterm babies who are mostly underweight, complications in pregnancy, heart attack, maternal, and infant mortality, among others.
He said if the body of a pregnant woman goes through a surge of hormones under highly stressful conditions, it could cause the heart to beat faster, narrowing the blood vessels, a situation that could even lead to a heart attack.
He, therefore, appealed to relatives and friends of pregnant women to create a sense of community around them by offering the needed help to prevent the buildup of stress in them and its consequences.
Mr. Francis Ameyibor, Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Manager, appealed to media practitioners to lead health advocacy to create massive awareness across the country and promote personal health literacy.
He noted that GNA—Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility! seeks to set the medium for the propagation of health information to influence personal health choices by improving health literacy.
GNA