A leading Scottish doctor has revealed how she suffered from a serious pregnancy illness twice, forcing both her and her babies to undergo lifesaving treatment. Shilpi Szwejkowska, a consultant interventional radiologist at in Dundee, is calling for a test that can diagnose pre-eclampsia in pregnant mothers to become available in Scotland. The , is being rolled out to 90% of mothers in England and most maternity hospitals in Wales.
Now Szwejkowska, who practises under her maiden name, Dr Pal, is urging the Scottish Government to speed up its introduction after the Scottish Health Technologies Group approved its use in March 2023. Up to 8% of pregnant women are affected by pre-eclampsia, making it among the most common reasons for treatment in NHS obstetric emergency services. Szwejkowska, 47, a mum of three, developed the high-blood-pressure pregnancy illness during her first and third pregnancies.
She said: “I became seriously ill. One of our children had to undergo rigorous treatment for prematurity in neonatal intensive care. “He had to be delivered 10 weeks early to save us both.
“From there I was transferred to high dependency to recover while my son began his struggle to live in the nearby neonatal ICU. My treatment involved magnesium to prevent me having seizures, a risk to mums with the very high blood pressure caused by pre-eclampsia. “The potentially life-saving PlGF test gives obstetricians a chance to treat the mother and also strengthen and ma.
