Coming Sunday, Family Media will, once again, be giving you another golden opportunity for a live interaction with different medical practitioners during our monthly live health show - Doctors on Call. Due to public demand, the panel of doctors will be focusing on Asthma, a chronic lung condition which has become prevalent among people of all ages. Also to be spotlighted will be endometriosis, a debilitating threat to women's health that affects the uterus and ovaries and can cause infertility. To engage you will be Dr. Gachare (paediatric-pulmonologist), Dr. Ann Kihara (obstetrician-gynaecologist), Dr. Patrick Mbugua (physician-nephrologists) and Dr. Kamuri (skin specialist).
FQ.Can having an abortion lead to problems in future pregnancies? The first question is at which period did the process occur. Was she cleaned out or was it spontaneous. Letting nature take its course can cause infections to the fallopian tubes thus bringing a problem in fertility. In such a case the lady needs to have a high vaginal swab and blood tests to rule out a current infective process.
FWhat causes low blood pressure? For a young person, low blood pressure is not unusual. It could be because of disease processors like severe infections in the blood stream. If one is up and about with his chores normally then there’s no call for alarm. You can take salts to boost your low blood pressure, eat well and take lots of fluids.
FWhat other options does a mother who is HIV positive and other medical conditions have in regard to breast feeding? With other medical conditions, you have to know the condition then you
are advised on which medicines you can take while breastfeeding. HIV positive mothers have infant feeding options. They can exclusively breast feed the baby for the first six months of life. If the mother chooses not to breastfeed they have to meet a criteria. They have to afford replacement feeding that is the formula.
FHow can a pregnant woman maintain the pregnancy to its full term in a healthy way? The first trimester is the most important for a pregnant woman. Diet is very important. You should eat healthy foods high in vitamins and minerals that build the immune system and antioxidants for example vitamin A (found in vegetables and fruits), folic acid (found in liver, leafy green vegetables) and Iron. Weight gain is important for the growth of the baby but it should not be in excess. Blood pressure and blood sugar patients need a controlled diet.
Every woman carrying a pregnancy has the risk of getting hypertensive diseases because this is when the placenta invades the maternal circulation. For some reason for other people it is not appropriate. It is one of the commonest maternal problem and can even lead to maternal death. If hypertensive you can get super imposed hypertension in pregnancy. A hypertensive woman must seek a multi-disciplinary forum for her follow ups before she can conceive.
