Jennie Joseph Blogs About Heart Health

Every Heart Counts!

At dawn this morning a slippery wet being emerged from his mothers’ heaving body. A newborn baby boy gave a sweet little cry pinking- up beautifully as I gently laid him on her chest – skin-to-skin and heart to heart.  Sitting back I was able to behold that sacred moment as a new family bonded, joined inextricably forever, their world and lives forever changed.

Yes, ‘Every Heart Counts’! Yet, in pregnancy and birth, where more often than not a straightforward course can be anticipated for low-risk healthy women, we don’t talk much about heart health. We all know that we should have our blood pressure checked during pregnancy.  We know it is an indication of the health of the mother, yet before and between pregnancies young women are not educated about the importance of knowing their blood pressure reading or checking their cholesterol or triglyceride levels. In fact in America, most women of childbearing age don’t even go to the doctor unless they are already pregnant.

Why is that a problem? Heart health is a major issue that has resulted in the USA’s pitiful world ranking around maternal morbidity and mortality – the illness and death that a woman experiences related to childbearing. In a country where true access to health care has not been, and is not yet the norm, women with high-blood pressure frequently find themselves already high-risk before a pregnancy begins and virtually locked out of care again once the baby is born. Pre-eclampsia and chronic hypertension are seriously affecting pregnant American women and sadly the poor and the disenfranchised bear a disproportionate burden. All too often the pregnancy ends badly either for the mother or her baby; 34,000 ‘near miss’ events annually, a rising rate of maternal deaths and a seemingly intractable rate of premature and low-birth weight babies illustrate just how poorly we are doing.

Who is at-risk? We all are. We have become adept at managing our lives at a whirlwind pace. We have accepted the status quo and although we are well aware of the need to eat healthier, exercise more, quit smoking and reduce our stress; somehow that is not our reality. When pregnancies are unplanned, as 50 % typically are, there is no time for the preconception counseling, the preparation and the support that would have a woman and her baby off to a healthy start.  

What can we do?  Getting a check up regularly is an obvious and important step, but again let’s stay in reality. Until such time as all women have access to care, whether pregnant or not, it pays to take your ‘heart’ into your own hands. Check your own blood pressure, know your numbers, and keep a record. Find out your family history, share with each other what you know and hold each other accountable for taking care of yourselves. Learn about the resources that are available in your area, research and share pertinent phone numbers and websites with friends and neighbors.

Remember that a pregnancy, planned or unplanned, involves two hearts.  So at every stage of our childbearing years and on into menopause, let’s consider that ‘Every Heart Counts’ - and for the sake of our babies and their future too, let’s start focusing on the health of our own.