Wanjiku, the heart patient who was determined to carry her pregnancy to term despite her severe condition is now a proud mother of a little precious angel, Baby Purity who weighs 2.7kg, born in the early hours of November 26 without any of the anticipated complications.
About three weeks ago, we brought you the inspiring story of Wanjiku, the 23-year-old first time expectant mother with an acquired severe heart disease who defied doctors and kept her pregnancy. She has been on follow-up in the heart clinic for over seven years. Despite being discouraged from getting pregnant, she indeed presented with pregnancy at seven weeks with features of the heart problem more aggravated, leading to a stroke that caused paralysis on her right side. She could neither walk nor talk. A joint team of heart specialists, obstetrician gynaecologists, social scientists and other experts concurred that the pregnancy posed a grave danger to her life and should be terminated in the interest of mothers health.
Being among the team, we all signed, as required in concurrence. To our utter dismay, the young lady who had already suffered a stroke as part of the complications of heart disease aggravated by pregnancy, elected to continue the pregnancy supported by her equally young partner.
Despite my ambivalence, I quickly convinced my colleagues that in that case then we had to continue to provide the best medical care available, having reached the end of current evidence. This is in line with the Hippocratic Oath where patient autonomy is paramount. On December 3, exactly seven days after her uneventful normal delivery, a joint team of cardiologists and obstetricians assessed Wanjiku and recommended her discharge to be followed by postnatal and heart clinics. We feel inspired by her courage and look forward to giving her the best care possible.
