Circulatory Health magazine

Joyce Browne studies high blood
pressure in pregnant women
Around the world, some 350,000 women die during childbirth, labor or the
postpartum period every year. An important cause is high blood pressure during
pregnancy. Research physician Joyce Browne wants to minimize this risk.
High blood pressure in pregnancy can result in
pre-eclampsia, which could put the health of mother
and child at risk. Joyce conducts research among
800 women who are between 26 and 34 weeks
pregnant. She wants to find out whether it is possible
to predict which women benefit from giving birth as
soon as possible when they are ill, and for which
women delivery can be postponed. Every day in the
womb gives the child a better start in life.
Health of mother and child
She performs a second study among 400 women
a year after childbirth. She studies how many of
them still have high blood pressure, as well as the
general health status of mother and child.
She compares the results with those of 100 women
who had a normal childbirth. Joyce conducts the
first study in Ghana, the second in Nigeria. Not
because no pregnant women die from the effects
of high blood pressure in the Netherlands, but
because this happens far less frequently than in
the African countries: 7 out of 100,000 live births,
compared to 340 in Ghana and 814 in Nigeria.
Solid healthcare structure
The second reason for choosing these countries is
that they have a solid healthcare structure. Most
women visit a midwife at least once. Moreover, the
hospitals are fairly well organized, so that Joyce
can carry out her research there and
improvements in healthcare can be implemented.
Joyce works together with local doctors and
researchers. She's had to adapt to their different
cultural backgrounds, but also finds this very
instructive. "There is more of a hierarchy and
people are not as direct. That has made me more
careful. I no longer say: 'I suggest we do this or
this'. That's become: 'Would it be an idea if we did
this or this?'
Joyce expects to present the results of both
studies in 2020. She doesn't yet know what she will
do afterward: "But it will be a job in which I can
continue to make a meaningful contribution to
improving the health situation of women. This
currently matches perfectly with conducting
research."
36 Circulatory Health Magazine