The mainland has as many as 800,000-1 million new children with birth defects every year, and many people actually can't figure out why there is such a high rate of birth defects in the case that living conditions have been greatly improved.
What are birth defects?
Birth defects are generally "congenital malformations". That is to say, the baby in the mother's belly has some defects, which may be outward, or it may be some nerves and genes.
According to statistics, some babies with birth defects can obtain a better quality of life through early diagnosis and early detection and early treatment, and some families will face the tragedy of the baby's death after birth, and about 400,000 babies will face lifelong disabilities.
If you are trying to conceive or are already pregnant, you meet:
1. Both husband and wife have relevant genetic disease history;
2. Couples with repeated miscarriages of unknown cause or stillbirths;
3. Couples who have had defective children;
4. Couples of childbearing age who have been exposed to high-risk environmental factors for a long time;
5. Pregnant women ≥ 35 years old
One or more of the above characteristics, then, you have been included in the high-risk population for birth defects.
In fact, having children and "planting flowers" are similar to some extent, and they all pay attention to the time and place. Whether the flowers grow well or not, one looks at the seeds, the other looks at the environment. Similarly, the presence or absence of birth defects depends primarily on these two elements, namely genetics and environment.
1 Genetic factors
Chromosomal abnormalities
Inherited metabolic diseases
The mother is over 35 years of age
2 Environmental factors
Environmental factors that produce teratogenic effects
Vitamin B12 and folate deficiency
Prolonged severe vomiting in the early stages of pregnancy or gestational diabetes mellitus, ketoacidosis, etc
High fever in the first trimester of pregnancy is above 38.5 °C and lasts for more than one week
Pregnant women who work in high temperature environments for a long time are also prone to fetal neural tube malformations
Improper medication in the first trimester of pregnancy can also lead to inadequate neural tube closure
Faced with such a high incidence rate, what can we do to avoid birth defects and achieve eugenics?
Trying to conceive
1. Both husband and wife should do a good job of pre-pregnancy examination
In order to ensure the quality of the fetus, it is necessary for couples who are ready to become pregnant to do some pre-pregnancy examinations, men must check the items of chromosomes, liver function, blood routine, urinary system, sperm quality, etc., women must check the items of blood routine, liver function, urine routine, derating complete set, gynecological endocrinology and so on.
2. Stay away from harmful substances during pregnancy
During the pregnancy preparation, couples should stay away from cigarettes, alcohol, newly renovated houses, etc., so that the substance will affect the quality of sperm and eggs to a certain extent, which is bound to have a certain impact on the quality of the fetus.
3. Take folic acid
According to studies, folic acid is related to the development of the fetal neural tube and is a nutrient that cannot be lost to maintain normal growth and development. Therefore, women need to supplement with adequate amounts of folic acid on the advice of a doctor during and during the first trimester.
5. Conduct genetic counseling
Families with a family history of genetic disorders, recurrent miscarriages, or previous birth defects can use genetic counseling to assess the risk, prognosis, and prevention of having a child with or having a child again. If high risk is indicated, prenatal diagnosis should be performed promptly during pregnancy.
6. The best reproductive age is selected
Try to avoid pregnancies at an advanced age (> 35 years). Especially because of the "experience" of the elderly pregnant mother who is preparing to conceive for the second child, it is easy to take the prenatal examination lightly. With the increase of age, fertility declines, the risk value increases, and the probability of fetal defects increases, pregnant mothers need to pay more attention to obstetric examination.
Second trimester
7. Regular obstetric examination
Timely examination and early detection of problems can minimize the physical and mental harm to pregnant women. Clinically, the following methods are mainly used to screen and diagnose birth defects such as trisomy 21, trisomy 18 and neural tube defects.
Tests such as ultrasound, serological screening, and noninvasive DNA minimize the probability of birth defects. However, it should be noted that the above examination items cannot exclude the risk of birth defects 100%.
puerperium
8. Newborn screening
After the baby lands on the ground, don't forget to do newborn screening. At present, newborn screening mainly includes two items: hypothyroidism and congenital phenylketonuria.
In fact, for birth defects, early detection, early intervention, early treatment, most families can have a healthy baby, even if unfortunately pregnant, with the progress of medicine, after follow-up intervention and treatment can also delay the development of the disease, and even return to normal, so mothers do not have to worry too much.
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