Over 3,000 mothers with diabetes receive focused care at NCRHA

Consistent with the Ministry of Health's overarching strategy to reduce the impact of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in TT, especially in pregnant women, the North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA) established the Advanced Diabetes in Pregnancy Clinic at the Mt Hope Women's Hospital in 2017. Since then, approximately 3,700 pregnant women have accessed specialist care to ensure the health and well-being of both baby and mother.

Gestational diabetes can negatively affect the health of women and their babies, and for women with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, high blood sugar around the time of conception increases babies' risk of birth defects, stillbirth, and pre-term birth.

"A woman's reproductive system is already a delicate and complex system in the body; and when paired with a non-communicable disease like diabetes, it becomes increasingly imperative to take preventative steps to identify potential complications before they become life-threatening or require emergency care. This will result in safer pregnancies for both mother and baby," medical chief of staff at the Women's Hospital, Prof Bharath Bassaw said.

This multidisciplinary clinic, which focuses on antenatal care, was implemented to provide specialist medical intervention to pregnant women who are pre-disposed to non-communicable diseases such as diabetes. It includes educational sessions and workshops with experts in the field, as well as, access to medical care from ophthalmologists, cardiologists, haematologists, nutritionists and dieticians to name a few.

Expecting mothers are also provided with diascan machines and are taught to use the equipment so they can monitor glucose levels on their own at home.

"The North Central Regional Health Authority revised the initial process and adopted a systems approach which targeted at-risk mothers for increased monitoring and more frequent episodes of care," said NCRHA CEO Davlin Thomas.

"We’ve identified opportunities for improvement in the system and have successfully implemented radical innovations to ensure our citizens, in this case our women, receive efficient and quality healthcare...Our exceptional doctors, nurses and other members of staff deserve the commendation that they have been receiving from the public."

He said the NCRHA is keen on making healthcare accessible to all, especially women, and has executed outreach programmes such as The Great Pap Smear campaign which provides cervical screening and specialist medical care to our women.

"We’ve also taken it a step further by expanding the Great Pap Smear initiative, with the launch of the mobile outreach programme, which aims to make cervical screening more accessible in rural communities."