A Mother's Nightmare: From Migraine to Miscarriage
In 2023, Gowend, a resident of Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso, experienced what began as a persistent migraine during the early stages of her second pregnancy. At first, she didn't realise she was expecting, nor did she suspect the severity of her condition.
The headaches became so intense that she took Efferalgan daily, yet found no relief. She developed neck stiffness, joint pain that made walking difficult, loss of appetite, and severe breathing difficulties that made every breath feel like a struggle.
Her mother-in-law suggested her symptoms were simply due to carrying a boy this time, following her first daughter. This reassurance led Gowend to dismiss her condition as normal pregnancy changes rather than recognising it as something more sinister.
The Terrifying Collapse and Hospital Diagnosis
One morning, while preparing her first child for school, Gowend lost consciousness. "Everyone thought the worst," she recalls. "When I fainted, my eyes were still open. I had the appearance of a dead person."
Her husband rushed her to hospital where she remained unconscious for up to an hour. Medical staff later told her: "Madame, you are really a fighter." She had been battling for two lives - her own and her unborn baby's.
Extensive medical examinations revealed the truth: Gowend had contracted dengue fever, a viral illness transmitted by mosquitoes that can be fatal in severe cases. Studies have linked dengue infection with increased risk of miscarriage.
Gowend had first become aware of dengue's dangers when a friend died from haemorrhagic complications after self-medicating with anti-inflammatories. "You hear about dengue from afar but you don't imagine it could ever happen to you," she reflects.
Heartbreaking Loss and Subsequent Recovery
After being sent home from hospital, Gowend discovered she was bleeding. An ultrasound initially seemed reassuring, with the technician saying her baby was fine. However, medical terms in her results prompted her to search online, where she suspected the worst.
When her doctor saw the results, he immediately asked why she had been allowed to leave hospital. He then delivered the devastating news: she had miscarried.
"I couldn't believe it was true," Gowend remembers. "I saw how I was going back without my baby." She required a curettage procedure to remove uterine tissue.
The emotional pain was overwhelming. She had already named her unborn child Akhbar and deeply cherished the pregnancy. Despite asking her mother to pray for Akhbar's safety, she lost her "little angel."
Gowend experienced intense guilt and self-blame, wondering what she might have done wrong. "Maybe I failed somewhere? Maybe I did something wrong that caused the miscarriage," she questioned. Fortunately, her husband provided crucial support during this difficult period.
Living with Dengue's Legacy and Raising Awareness
When Gowend contracted dengue for the second time during a subsequent pregnancy at seven months, hospital staff remembered her case vividly. "Everyone was trying to understand it, to study it," she notes.
This second infection was equally severe, requiring oxygen support and leaving her unable to eat or move independently. She prayed constantly to be able to hold her baby, asking her lost Akhbar to watch over his sister.
Medical staff began calling her "the survivor" or "the one who came back," recognising how close she had come to death.
The experience transformed Gowend into "Madame Awareness." She now takes comprehensive precautions against mosquitoes, using repellents, coils, and covering her body completely. She has removed flower pots that might attract mosquitoes and worked with local authorities to spray her entire neighbourhood.
Dengue fever is increasingly prevalent in Africa and Asia due to climate change, with rising detection in Europe as warming temperatures expand mosquito habitats. Gowend's story highlights the very human cost of this environmental crisis.
"It changed the way I see things," Gowend concludes. "It changed my personality. It made me mature. As a mother, I have to protect myself first - so that I can protect my children too."
