Following recent tragedies of women dying during childbirth at public hospitals, one young mother is praising the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) for saving her life and the life of her baby after she developed complications during pregnancy.
Just a few weeks shy of a full term, Shinnel George, 19, of 50 V Sisters Village, started experiencing stomach cramps last Sunday and was rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital.
However, George, who was having her first child, said the thought of delivering at that hospital was scary.
Because there was no doctor at the hospital when she was taken there, George was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital. At the GPH upon examination, it was noted that her blood pressure was high and there was protein in her urine. George had preeclampsia.
Preeclampsia usually develops after 20 weeks into gestation. The placenta creates a chemical substance which causes damage to the mother’s blood vessels as well as liver and could result in the low birth rate (Intra Uterine Growth Retardation) of the baby. This is according to George’s doctor Vish Persaud, who spearheaded the team that dealt with her case.
George had to be rushed to the operating room, where a caesarean section was performed to remove the baby. After the delivery of the healthy baby boy, George’s health took a turn for the worse.
While recovering from the caesarean section in the Intensive Care Unit, George’s haemoglobin level declined. Dr Persaud said that George had bled some two pints of blood into her abdominal cavity.
George had developed HELLP syndrome (Hemalosis Elevated Liver Low Platelets), which had to be treated with Fresh Frozen Plasma (FFP), Dr Persaud added. Dr Persaud stated that HELLP syndrome was a manifestation of liver damage as a result of the preeclampsia.
A team made up of a gynaecologist, an anaesthesiologist and others, including Dr Persaud, was “aggressive” in managing George’s health and curbed what could have been another fatality in child birth.
She was given an IV steroid treatment to stop damage to the blood vessels in her organs. “There were so many things that went wrong with her,” Dr Persaud said. He added “the team work together was very good” in saving George’s life. “Dr (Madan) Rambaran came to me personally and said we can’t let her die,” Persaud said, while noting the recent deaths of a nurse at the GPHC and several other women in public hospitals in Berbice.
George, meanwhile, was grateful for her life, adding that she was looking forward to eventually going home with her son. In the High Dependency Unit, George is being closely monitored as she “gradually recovers,” said Dr Persaud.
“Excellent treatment, very good treatment,” was how George described her experience at the hospital. She was surrounded by the media operatives, the hospital’s Public Relations Officer and Dr Persaud.
According to the PRO Alero Proctor, “we wanted to highlight one of the miracle stories. She (George) was scared and had her reservations but she wanted to talk about it.”
Meanwhile, Dr Persaud urged all young pregnant women to “go for prenatal care; don’t just assume everything is okay.” He added that it was important to know your medical history, since preeclampsia occurs in women who have a family history of the condition.
Although George attended clinic monthly and was found to be healthy, Dr Persaud said that coming towards the end of pregnancy women should visit their doctors often. Preeclampsia occurs during pregnancy and is more common among first time mothers who are below twenty, with a higher incidence in black women.
