Aunty Jemimah, a radio presenter, recently opened up about her tragic experience with Gestational Diabetes, a condition that can develop during pregnancy and cause high blood sugar levels in the mother, leading to the loss of her child. In an emotional interview with Kamau Mwangi, Jemimah revealed that the loss of her child was a traumatic experience that left her devastated.
Jemimah explained that the condition was not detected early enough, and the day she was scheduled to go for a test, she postponed it due to other commitments. Unfortunately, she later found out that her baby had died a day or two before she arrived at the hospital, just six weeks before her due date. “We lost the baby due to Gestational Diabetes. It was not detected early enough, the day I was to go for the test I postponed it as I had something else I was doing…I do not know exactly at what point the baby died,” said Jemimah.
The loss was overwhelming for Jemimah, who sought therapy to help her cope with her grief. However, therapy did not entirely alleviate the pain and emotional triggers that she experienced. The hospital records, seeing other pregnant women and children, and other reminders of her loss continued to trigger her, causing her to break down in tears in the middle of her radio show. “There are so many triggers. I lost the baby in September and seeing other people’s kids would trigger me, seeing other women pregnant also triggered me,” she said.
In an earlier interview with Mungai Eve, Jemimah narrated how she lost her daughter, despite having a smooth 34 weeks’ pregnancy journey. Her water broke, and she went into labor immediately after arriving at the hospital. After a few checkups of the heartbeat, Jemimah realized that her baby had no foetal activity, and she was induced, but her baby arrived sleeping. The experience broke her emotionally as she remembered how beautiful her late daughter was, weighing 2.2kg.
Despite the heartbreak of losing her child, Jemimah found the strength to try for another pregnancy. However, carrying a baby after losing one was a challenging journey for Jemimah. She was constantly worried and had to take medication for her gestational diabetes. She took nine sugar level tests every day, which also affected her blood pressure, adding to her anxiety. “Carrying a baby after loss is a tough journey because you are constantly worried. I was on constant medication because of gestational diabetes. I would take nine tests of my sugar level every day. I am an over-thinker so I was constantly worried,” Jemimah said.
