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Pregnancy is a vulnerable condition for the mother and baby. This condition is caused by a long process from fertilization to the formation of cells that would become new humans approximately for nine months. There will be many changes in the mother’s body condition at that time thus maintaining health is important. If it is not well-maintained, it can lead to health problems during pregnancy, such as hypertension.
Hypertension is a condition in which a person’s blood pressure is above the normal limit with this condition: diastolic pressure reaches ≥140 mmHg and systolic reaches ≥90 mmHg. Hypertension can occur before, during, and after pregnancy. If a woman has hypertension before becoming pregnant, she needs to communicate the situation with health care providers before planning a pregnancy so that the treatment doesn’t harm the fetus and to get the information to maintain weight by eating nutritious food and physical activity that needs to be done. Whereas if a newly pregnant woman suffers from hypertension during pregnancy, she should see a health worker and get appropriate care in accordance with routine pregnancy checks until the time of giving birth. Pregnant women who have hypertension must be more careful because there is a chance of having a stroke and other health problems after giving birth.
Hypertension that occurs 20 weeks before pregnancy is called chronic hypertension. Women with chronic hypertension are more likely to have pre-eclampsia in the second or third trimester of pregnancy. For those who experience high blood pressure during pregnancy, it can be said as to have gestational hypertension, usually occurs at the age of 20 weeks of pregnancy until the time of giving birth. This is similar to a pre-eclampsia disorder where the blood pressure of a normal suddenly becomes high during pregnancy, as well as the presence of protein levels in urine and other health problems after 20 weeks of pregnancy. In rare cases, the state of pre-eclampsia can occur after giving birth, this is known as postpartum pre-eclampsia.
Health problems mentioned above can cause complications to the mother and baby such as stroke, and induction at the time of giving birth and the detachment of the placenta from the uterine wall. Baby can also be born prematurely due to lack of oxygen and adequate nutrition, this is caused by high blood pressure experienced by the mother. Therefore it is crucial to monitor health during pregnancy.
Summit Institute of Development (SID) helps health workers, especially midwives, to monitor the health of pregnant women using a digital platform called OpenSRP. This application can record the health history of the mother during pregnancy, as well as reminders of pregnancy visits so that their condition can be monitored properly. By using this technology, health problems that can lead to complications and even lead to death can be prevented effectively. Hopefully, with this OpenSRP application, SID can help the Indonesian government to monitor the health of pregnant women and significantly reduce morbidity and mortality rates of mothers and children.
Writer : Ardina Ulya Editor : IffaPermatasari Translator : Mazidatun Maftukhah
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