Medical experts affirm that pre-marital health checks will help couples prevent, detect and treat many dangerous diseases early as well as avoid unnecessary consequences in their married life and future. future generations.
This is one of the first forms of screening and is an extremely important premise to help create a sustainable and happy family life and contribute to improving the quality of the population.
Lesson 1: An important preparation step before marriage
Pre-marital health check-up is a necessary job to bring benefits to the reproductive, physical and mental health of couples in the future.
Many young people do not understand well about pre-marital health check
According to Ms. Do Thi Quynh Huong, Deputy Director of the Department of Population Structure and Quality (General Department of Population and Family Planning, Ministry of Health), the pre-marital period begins from the moment a person is able to bear children. property until marriage. People at this stage include fertile adolescents and adults (even 30-40 years old) who have never been married.
Usually, before marriage, couples, in addition to preparing material facilities for a new life, are only interested in organizing the wedding and preparing psychologically for a change in life, and health issues. reproduction is hardly mentioned.
But in fact there are many cases where just a few days after the marriage got into an argument, the husband suspected that his wife was no longer a “virgin” before marriage because the first “marital life” did not see “signs”; there are cases where the wife has a low uterus, so every pregnancy is a miscarriage; there are female friends who have gynecological diseases but dare not go to the doctor just because they are not married; Then many children born with birth defects that are not recognized by their parents have to be put in orphanages…
[Việt Nam đạt những tiến bộ đáng kể trong việc cải thiện sức khỏe sinh sản]
Ms. Do Thi Quynh Huong said that many cases are due to lack of understanding about Reproductive Health but the marital relationship is fractured, resulting in long-term decline in health and psychology, threatening family happiness, and more profoundly affecting the community, society and the quality of national human resources.
It is worth mentioning that most of these troubles can be prevented if men and women receive good premarital guidance and care for their reproductive health.
According to Ms. Do Thi Quynh Huong, pre-marital health checks help couples give birth to healthy children. Because many birth defects or diseases of children can be inherited from parents.
Due to the lack of knowledge about reproductive health care, screening and early detection of children’s diseases right in the fetal stage, many couples have had children with birth defects, brain hernia, hydrocephalus, etc. cerebral palsy, musculoskeletal defects…, died at birth; and children with cleft lips, cleft palate, malformations of limbs, malformations of genital organs, even though they can live, the suffering still haunts the children, their families and society for life.
In developed countries, medical examination marriage is a must. However, in our country many couples of marriageable age and reproductive age have not taken this issue seriously; many young people do not have sufficient information and knowledge about going to a pre-marital examination; I’m still afraid to go to the doctor before getting married, partly because I’m afraid of acquaintances and friends, partly because I’m afraid that if I unfortunately have any medical conditions, it will affect my emotions. Their… A few others think that they have no problems due to their normal health, no sickness or disease. Therefore, the number of young men and women who actively go for health check-ups before marriage is still very low.
In remote, mountainous and ethnic minority areas, pre-marital health check-ups and counseling are even more difficult. Due to customs and habits, many people do not properly realize and fully understand the importance of pre-marital health checks, prenatal and newborn screening, etc., leading to the birth of children with birth defects. suffer from many dangerous diseases.
It is estimated that each year, Vietnam has about 40,000 babies born with birth defects, among which are common such as: Down, Edwards syndrome, neural tube defects, congenital hypothyroidism, G6PD enzyme deficiency, gland hyperplasia congenital adrenal gland, severe congenital hemolysis and other genetic diseases, birth defects.
Bring many benefits
According to Deputy Director of the Department of Population Structure and Quality Do Thi Quynh Huong, the purpose of the consultation, pre-marital health check to prepare the right knowledge and psychology for the couple’s sex life; detect and treat early (if possible) some diseases that can affect sex problems, pregnancy, and childbirth later.
Health screening for female workers in Nam Dinh. (Photo: Van Dat/VNA)Implement a planned birth in the most effective way. Preventing diseases and birth defects for future children and preparing women with health conditions for safe pregnancy and childbirth in the future…
A pre-marital health check-up is not only an expression of concern for one’s own health, but also a duty to one’s husband/wife.
During pre-marital health checks, couples are advised to start a healthy and safe sex life that they have not experienced before, thereby avoiding problems in marital life.
During the pre-marital health checkup, couples are given a general health check and a reproductive health check (ultrasound of the uterus, ovaries, semen analysis, etc.), taking family history and medical history. own pathology, to assess the possibility of carrying the disease gene and possibly affecting the offspring in the future.
With comprehensive tests carried out, pre-marital health checks help couples avoid having children with some common genetic diseases such as color blindness, thalassemia, thalassemia syndrome. Down syndrome, hereditary hemophilia, Turner syndrome, Edward syndrome…
At the same time, it helps to screen for infectious diseases such as hepatitis B, HIV… and sexually transmitted diseases, thereby limiting the ability to pass the disease on to your children and spread the disease to your partner (if you are unfortunately infected. disease) as well as having an early treatment plan.
In case one of the two has fertility problems such as ovarian cysts, weak sperm, azoospermia, etc., the doctor will have timely intervention solutions.
Ms. Do Thi Quynh Huong emphasized that pre-marital health check is a very necessary job, especially for young men and women preparing to get married. This is an extremely important first form of screening, besides prenatal and newborn screening, it will help prevent, detect and treat many dangerous diseases early, avoiding unnecessary consequences. have in the married life and future children, ensure a stable marriage, avoid the burden caused to the child, family and society.
This is also one of the forms of prenatal screening to improve population qualitycontribute to the protection and development of ethnic minorities.
Do Thi Quynh Huong recommends that couples should go to a doctor for pre-marital health screening 6 months before marriage. This is the right time to help couples avoid future risks and have timely interventions to overcome if there are unfortunately health problems.
Lesson 2: Promoting the pre-marital health check and counseling model
Minh Hue (VNA/Vietnam+)