Indiachildren - Pregnancy (Are you pregnant ?)

PRECONCEPTIONAL COUNSELLING

Ideally a pregnancy should be “by choice and not by chance” and “by appointment and not by accident”. The couple should start their preparation at least three to six months in advance, thereby ensuring a solid foundation for the varied experiences of parenthood. A couple’s decision for parenthood depends on a variety of factors like

Ê late marriage

Ê financial restrictions

Ê career development

Ê change of job or

Ê any illness

With preconceptional counselling the pregnancy can be fueled by a proper balanced diet coupled with a healthy life style, which will result not only in a healthy stress free pregnancy but also in an easy delivery with a healthy baby.

Start off by a preconception visit to your doctor. Always be honest and open with the doctor, thus enabling the doctor to know whether you will need special care during pregnancy. Pregnancy puts special demands on a woman’s body and a health problem, which was initially under control can change during pregnancy. As the quality of any crop will depend upon the quality of the seeds, the soil and the environment, a healthy baby can only result from the union of a healthy sperm and ova in the mother’s healthy environment.

For A Healthy Baby

Ê	Any addiction like alcohol, smoking, gutka, etc. should be stopped.
Ê	Certain medical conditions like hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and tuberculosis should be treated properly and well controlled in the preconceptional stage.
Ê	If there is family history of birth defects, genetic counselling is a must. It is very important to rule out a thalasaemic trait (major or minor) in the couple for a baby born with thalasaemia major can have a life debilitating disease requiring frequent blood transfusions.
Ê	Infections like measles, mumps and rubella can cause severe birth defects. It is best to be vaccinated three to six months before you try to conceive.
Ê	Sexually transmitted diseases come in all types and forms. These diseases not only affect the ability to conceive, but can also infect and harm your baby e.g. HIV infections (Human Immuno Deficiency Virus) and AID’S (Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome). Once established such infections persist for life with fatal outcomes.
Ê	The new era of working, independent evolved women has resulted in late marriages and late pregnancies. These women not only face difficult stressful pregnancies with increasing chances of vomitting and high blood pressure, but also have increased chances of difficult vaginal deliveries and increased chances of caesarian sections. A healthy body with a balanced diet and life style, tuned by proper exercise in the preconceptional stage can make things easier for them.

Preconceptional counselling, which has been overlooked for so long by couples should be seriously considered as it plays an important role in planning out a healthy pregnancy, an easy labour and a healthy baby.