This column’s summer series is all about “The Body” this week. And we start from the beginning, that is, at birth. Because it turns out that a difficult childbirth has a much greater impact on a woman’s body than previously thought.
Researcher Shahinda Ghossein of Maastricht University has found it strange that it has been known for some time that there is a link between preeclampsia and cardiovascular disease later in life, but this has not been given enough attention.
In her research she looked at exactly how this works in the body. As she put it Queen of Hearts program This should contribute to increasing knowledge about the effects of complications during pregnancy on the female body. Ghossein also believes that more should be done with this knowledge. Why don’t we actually screen these women? So that we can intervene when necessary?
If you have experienced preeclampsia yourself (even if it’s been a while), you can register to participate in the program.
Ghossein also looked at the relationship between preeclampsia and cognition. For example, the data I collected for the Queen of Hearts program already shows that it can take up to 20 years (!) to fully recover cognitively after pre-eclampsia.
You can read more about Ghossein’s work in it A book on the impact of pregnancy complications: The Queen of Hearts, the Power of Weakness.
