Stop stigmatization against pregnant teenagers — IMaH Medical Officer

While adolescent pregnancies are socially stigmatized, there is less of a chance that a teenager will develop hypertension before or after becoming pregnant, according to Dr. Derrick Darko, a Medical Officer at International Maritime Hospital (IMaH).

The IMaH Medical Officer emphasised that young expectant mothers frequently avoid traveling to hospitals for check-ups in order to avoid societal stigma.

Dr. Darko stated at the weekly "Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility," A Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Office, is an initiative aimed at promoting health-related communication and setting the medium for the propagation of health information in order to influence personal health choices by improving health literacy.

GNA-Tema Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility project also functions as a public health advocacy platform, with the goal of investigating the parameters of the four approaches to health communication: informative, educating, persuasive, and prompting.

Dr. Darko stated that because the majority of parents do not support teenage pregnancies, "teenagers who believe they cannot tell their parents that they are pregnant and who feel frightened and alone may be at risk of complications."

He went on to say that because teenagers are less likely to visit the hospital for regular prenatal exams, it's critical to help them get the antenatal care and emotional support they need to stay healthy during the most vulnerable stages of their lives.

The IMaH Medical Officer, also disclosed that women who are 35 years of age or older and are expecting their first child are also at risk for developing hypertension.

According to Dr. Darko, high blood pressure, has become more widespread, but with proper blood pressure management, a woman and her unborn child have a higher chance of remaining healthy.

Dr. Darko also stated that if a pregnant woman's body experiences a surge in hormones under extremely stressful circumstances, this could cause the heart to beat more quickly and narrow the blood vessels, which could even result in a heart attack.

In order to prevent the accumulating stress in pregnant women and its consequences, he therefore made an appeal to their friends and family to foster a feeling of community around them by providing the necessary support.

According to Dr. Darko, having high blood pressure during pregnancy increases the risk of having preterm infants who are typically underweight, pregnancy complications, heart attacks, and maternal and neonatal mortality, among other things.

Mr. Francis Ameyibor, Regional Manager of Ghana News Agency Tema, explained that "Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility" is part of a collaborative effort to establish a means for the dissemination of health information in order to influence individual health decisions by increasing health literacy.

He also stated that it aims to use the communication abilities of Ghana News Agency and medical professionals to inform the public that everyone's health is important and should be prioritised.

He stated that the health of parents should be a concern for children, and vice versa, as should the health of employees and employers, as well as the public and health experts.

Mr. Ameyibor observed that in order to establish a healthy society, everyone must be concerned about the well-being of others.

According to Mr. Ameyibor, the weekly health dialogue platform will also be used as a helpful channel of communication for health experts to educate the public on healthy habits and other general health challenges.