Experts have decried the alarming rate of pregnant women with kidney diseases, which primarily is as a result of an underlying kidney disorder complicated by an uncontrolled high blood pressure (hypertension) the woman was unaware of until the routine screening done during pregnancy.
Pregnancy alone does not cause a kidney disorder to worsen, but pregnant women with kidney disorders are more likely to develop hypertension (high blood pressure), including pre-eclampsia (pregnancy-induced hypertension and proteinuria; protein in urine) thus compromising renal (kidney) function.
A case of chronic kidney disorder before pregnancy increases the risk of stillbirths or Small for Gestational Age (smaller than expected/normal) babies. A pregnant woman with severe kidney disorder cannot carry a baby to term resulting in miscarriages or preterm births.
What causes kidney diseases?
Causes include
- Hypertension (High blood pressure)
- Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes
- Glomerulonephritis (inflammation of the kidney’s filtration unit; glomeruli)
- Interstitial nephritis (inflammation of the kidney’s tubules and surrounding structures)
- Polycystic kidney disease
- Prolonged obstruction of the urinary tract, from conditions like enlarged prostate, kidney stones, and some cancers
- Vesicoureteral reflux (condition that causes the urine to back up in the kidneys
- Pyelonephritis (recurrent kidney infections)
Risk factors include;
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Old age
- Smoking
- Cardiovascular diseases
- Heredity
- Abnormal kidney structure
- Alcohol consumption
Effect of herbal concoctions taken during pregnancy
It is habitual for African women, especially those living in the rural areas to use herbal concoctions prepared by Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA) during pregnancy, with widely spread false belief that these concoctions can change the sex of the fetus, make the babies stronger, and healthier, and help in healing the scars from previous Caesarean Section.
Apart from harm to the fetus, the mother may also compromise some vital organs like the kidney which is responsible for filtration, the heart, digestive system, among others, mainly due to the side effects and toxicity of the herbal contents.
According to Obstetrician/Gynecologist, Dr.Herbert Kadama, it is unwise to use herbal concoctions during pregnancies because of the uncertainties surrounding it.
“Do not risk the unknown, because these herbs are not researched, they can have immediate or long term effects. Pregnancy is a delicate state which deals with two people’s lives”.
In his research, he revealed that most of the herbal concoctions taken by pregnant women could induce labor, cause miscarriages, premature, and even deformed babies.
He warned pregnant women to avoid using any kind of medication or drugs because “because during this time, the baby is just forming so anything taken wrongly can affect the baby”.
