A gynaecologist and an obstetrician, Dr Gabriel Akilo, on Thursday urged women to get married at an early age or in their 20s to avoid developing fibroids.
Akilo made the suggestion at the 9th Symposium and Awards organised by the Health Writers Association of Nigeria (HEWAN) in collaboration with Maximpact Communications in Lagos.
He described fibroid, which is usually associated with women, as ‘pelvic tumours caused by old age’ and not getting pregnant early.
According to him, early marriage and frequent pregnancies protect the the womb, as the ‘Dormant Womb Grows Fibroids.’
”We need to talk about this problem because the rate at which we see cases of fibroids is becoming alarming.
”This is so common among women between 35 years and 45 years of age or nulliparous women.
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”The cases of fibroids are rare among women below 20 years; so, our women should do well to get pregnant at that age to reduce their chances of developing fibroids.
”We are strongly advising and encouraging our women to get married very early so that they do not face the scourge of fibroids.
”Our women should not be too choosy about the man they want to get married to and they shouldn’t wait for the man that has it all.
” Many of the women eligible for marriage miss the right men in the process of being choosy.
”And then, parents must encourage their female children by not rejecting their suitors on the grounds of tribe, religion or educational background,” he said.
Akilo advised women to be careful of the kind of treatment they get for their fibroids, saying that the kidneys, bowels, bladders, wombs and other organs around the uterus might be damaged.
Also speaking, Dr Gabriel Omonaiye, a family health physician, said that the government should be more aggressive in the implementation of the health insurance scheme through regular awareness.
Omonaiye said that many Nigerians were still ignorant of the health insurance scheme which had helped to reduce the high rate of unnecessary deaths.
”We need to attain universal health coverage for all citizens. The government should partner the private institutions and wealthy individuals,” he said.
