This article is part of a series highlighting the 网红黑料 Class of 2018 鈥� the graduates of Dal's 200th year. Read more of our Spring Convocation grad profiles.
After his experiences in Africa, 2018 Medicine graduate Allan Kember is determined to improve the health of women and their babies in the developing world. The Prince Edward Island native is particularly focused on Ghana, where he did an elective and a clinical trial during his MD training at Dal.
鈥淲e tested the PrenaBelt on 200 pregnant women in Ghana,鈥� says Allan of his Research in Medicine project, which also involved pilot studies of the PrenaBelt in Halifax and Adelaide, Australia.
A former engineer, Allan designed the PrenaBelt to help minimize how much time pregnant women spend sleeping on their backs. 鈥淚t鈥檚 essentially a belly band with a couple of high-density plastic balls that produce uncomfortable pressure points when the woman rolls onto her back,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his prompts her to shift back onto her side, taking pressure off the inferior vena cava.鈥�
Pressure on this major blood vessel can reduce nutrient and oxygen flow to the fetus and placenta, raising the risk of low birth weight and stillbirth.
鈥淲e observed higher birth weights among babies born to the women who wore the PrenaBelt during their pregnancies, compared to the babies of the women who wore a 鈥榮ham鈥� belt,鈥� he says. 鈥淪o it warrants further research and development.鈥�
A global perspective
While in Ghana on a clinical elective in obstetrics earlier this year, Kember noticed a much larger problem than low birth weight and even stillbirth. 鈥淎 young pregnant woman whom I had triaged in the emergency department later died from complications of pre-eclampsia,鈥� he says. 鈥淩ates of pre-eclampsia are so much higher in Ghana and Africa in general, but it鈥檚 not known why.鈥�
Pre-eclampsia is a pregnancy condition marked by high blood pressure, fluid retention, and excess protein in the urine. It can lead to serious complications, including seizures in the mother and placental abruption, which is when the placenta separates from the uterine wall too early. This may lead to the death of the baby and sometimes of the mother as well.
鈥淚n Canada, I didn鈥檛 see a single case of placental abruption in a six-week ob-gyn rotation,鈥� remarks Kember. 鈥淚n Ghana, I saw four in one shift.鈥�
One of Allan鈥檚 goals is to help uncover the reasons for the high occurrence of pre-eclampsia in Africa, both during and following his upcoming residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Toronto.