A good preconception care plan can help you prepare for a new baby, while also helping to reduce pregnancy complications and increase fertility rates.
01
Why preconception care?
Improve the health status of couples of childbearing age and prevent birth defects through health education, health check-ups, risk assessments, and eugenics guidance.
02
Who must have preconception care?
The preconception care services include all married, married and couples who are planning to have children, and special groups with a history of adverse pregnancies are the focus of the preconception health care services.
03
What are the contents of the pre-pregnancy eugenic health check-up?
Pre-pregnancy health check-ups are recommended to be done 4-6 months before conception. Topics include:
- General Assessment:
- To understand the age and general status of the couple, including whether there is a history of genetic diseases, family history and chronic diseases, whether there is a history of adverse pregnancy outcomes, occupational status and working environment, diet and nutrition, lifestyle, interpersonal relationship, sports (labor) situation and domestic violence, etc. It mainly includes routine pre-pregnancy medical examinations for both husband and wife, and pre-pregnancy examinations for women with a history of adverse pregnancy and childbirth.
- Physical examination:
- (1) Routine physical examination: including respiration, heart rate, blood pressure, etc., to calculate body mass index.
- (2) Routine gynecological examination: understand the vulva, vagina, cervix, uterus and double appendages.
- Routine andrological examination: pay attention to secondary sexual characteristics, observe the external genitalia: whether the glans is exposed, whether the outer opening of the foreskin can be turned up, whether there are vegetations, ulcers, and smegma in the external urethral opening, palpate the penis for induration, and whether there is abnormal fluid outflow from the external urethral opening when squeezing the penile urethra; check the shape and size of the testicles, epididymis and spermatic cord to know whether there is a lump. When the testicle in the scrotum is absent, the ipsilateral groin should be carefully examined.
- (3) Laboratory examination and auxiliary examination.
04
What other issues should be paid attention to in preconception health care?
- Make a family plan and spacing your births reasonably.
- Body quality management and exercise coaching.
- Assess the nutritional status of couples trying to conceive.
- Folic acid supplementation before pregnancy.
- Be cautious with medication, stay away from harmful substances, and maintain physical and mental health.
05
How do I make an appointment for a preconception check-up?
Xuzhou Maternal and Child Health Hospital provides pre-pregnancy health care clinics (female examination) and andrology department (male examination) for people who are preparing for pregnancy, and provides professional pre-pregnancy examination and consulting services.
Preconception care clinics
Clinic hours
Monday to Friday
Outpatient location
In the general outpatient clinic on the third floor of the outpatient building
Physician on call
Sun Chengcai
Head of the General Section
Chief TCM physician of the Department of Andrology
He is a member of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Branch of the Chinese Maternal and Child Health Association, the vice chairman of the Traditional Chinese Medicine and Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Branch of the Jiangsu Maternal and Child Health Association, the standing committee member of the Andrology Branch of the Jiangsu Research Hospital Association, the vice chairman of the Andrology Branch of the Xuzhou Medical Association, the executive director of the Xuzhou Association for Science and Technology, and the member of the expert database of the Xuzhou Medical Appraisal Committee. He has been engaged in the diagnosis and treatment of male infertility for 30 years and has rich experience. In 1994, his "Laparoscopic Spermatic Vein Ligation" won the Municipal Science and Technology Achievement Award. In 2000, "In Vitro Fertilization and Its Derivative Technology" won the third prize of Municipal Science and Technology Progress Award.
In 2003, "In Vitro Fertilization-Embryo Transfer and Its Derivative Technology" won the third prize of the Municipal Science and Technology Progress Award, which has unique features in the treatment of oligospermia, asthenospermia, immune infertility, low sperm acrosomal enzyme activity, etc., and the original formulaic treatment program for immune infertility and the traditional Chinese medicine characteristic treatment program with increased sperm fragmentation rate and low sperm acrosome enzyme activity have extremely high efficacy. Professional expertise: male preconception health care, in the diagnosis and treatment of male factors such as male infertility, sexual dysfunction, and poor pregnancy outcomes for women, especially in the treatment of low sperm count, asthenospermia, increased sperm fragmentation rate, and low sperm acrosomal enzyme activity.
Tian Miao
Attending physician of the preconception care clinic
Doctor of Gynecology in Traditional Chinese Medicine
Under the tutelage of Professor Wang Xiuxia, a national famous Chinese medicine doctor, she specializes in: pre-pregnancy pre-pregnancy prenatal and parenting guidance, pre-pregnancy traditional Chinese medicine health care guidance, pre-pregnancy conditioning, gynecological endocrine diseases, infertility, menstrual disorders, dysmenorrhea, perimenopausal diseases, pelvic inflammatory disease, vaginitis, etc.
文字 | 孕前保健门诊 田苗
Picture | Yao Meng
Edit | Lee Jong-yu
Audit | Sun Chengcai
Editor | Liu Yanmin