Health Issues
The recent years have seen a growing awareness in people,
about the importance of planning for pregnancy. Couples now
realize that the steps and precautions they take not just
during pregnancy but before pregnancy as well can have a big
impact on the health of the mother and child. Let us clue you
in on some of the health issues that you need to keep in mind
if you and your partner are planning for pregnancy.
1.If you are planning on getting pregnant, you should
schedule a visit to your OB/GYN. Your doctor will conduct a
complete checkup to understand if there are any risk factors
that could affect conception or the baby. For example, if the
mother has a health problem such as diabetes, epilepsy or
hypertension, it becomes important that the pregnancy be
monitored more carefully than say in a healthy mother. If these
risk factors become known during pregnancy planning, the mother
is made aware of them before her pregnancy and the doctor too
will be in a better position to help her take adequate
precautions during pregnancy.
2.Specific problems like diabetes and high blood pressure give
rise to various complications. For example, a diabetic mother
is more at a risk of having miscarriages, having stillbirths or
of delivering a baby with birth defects. All these however can
be avoided to a very large extent if the risk factors are known
beforehand so that the mother can be monitored carefully before
pregnancy and during pregnancy. Similarly a woman with very
high blood pressure may have placental problems; there is also
a risk of growth retardation of the unborn baby. Again, these
problems can be avoided or overcome to a large extent by
careful monitoring the mother before she becomes pregnant and
during her pregnancy.
3.The pre-pregnancy stage is also a good time to get yourself
weighed and see if you are in the recommended weight range for
your height. Both overweight and underweight women may have
problems in getting pregnant. Further, they are more at risk of
developing complications during pregnancy. It is best to use
the pre-pregnancy period to understand what your optimum weight
should be and work towards it.
4.Couples planning to get pregnant will be asked to completely
quit smoking and avoid excess alcohol consumption.
5.Some couples may have genetic disorders that they may pass on
to their children and may have to consider some kind of genetic
counseling to understand the full implications of these
disorders.
6.It is also important that couples hoping to get pregnant
should be as stress-free and anxiety-free as possible. These
are factors that have long-term effects not just on conception
but on the health of the mother and of the unborn baby as
well.
7.You will be advised to start paying closer attention to what
you eat and drink. It is important for the woman to start
having regular, healthy meals even before pregnancy. If you
have not already started on an exercise regimen, start now so
that you stay fit and healthy even during and after
pregnancy.
| 