Pregnant women need support from their spouse
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Every pregnant woman worries about the health of her future baby, however, it is unfortunately impossible to "program" the birth of a healthy child.
However, there is an opportunity to find out whether the baby is all right in the early stages of pregnancy. Modern methods of laboratory diagnosis will allow to reveal in the fetus such dangerous diseases as Edwards syndrome, Down's syndrome or neural tube defects. This method is called prenatal diagnosis.
It includes three methods of screening:
- Biochemical analysis - a pregnant woman's blood test for various indicators
- Ultrasound examination. Detection of anomalies in the development of a child with the help of ultrasound
- Analysis of data on the mother and child: age, gestational age, body weight, the presence of diseases and other factors affecting the health of the child.
However, no matter how good this method was, but after revealing any deviations in the child, for example, congenital heart disease, pregnant women are experiencing great stress, anxiety, and sometimes fall into depression.
To support a pregnant woman in such a situation and help to maintain her peace of mind and calm will help the trusting relationship with her husband and the professional help of medical workers, experts say from the Center for Pediatric Cardiology of Philadelphia.
Jack Ricik, MD, lead author of studies and the head of the Fetal Heart Program program, says: "The notification of congenital heart disease is a blow to the future mother and raises her anxiety level. Prenatal diagnosis is useful in that it gives parents time to learn more about the illness of the child and the methods of its treatment. However, whatever the results of the screening, for a pregnant woman is very important support the spouse and his strong shoulder next. "
It is especially important to carry out prenatal diagnosis in the first trimester of pregnancy (10-13 weeks), because then the psychological shock will be significantly lower than when pathologies of development are discovered at later dates.
Although prenatal diagnosis and gives parents the opportunity to learn about the state of health of the baby still in the womb, but there is a risk that the woman will decide to terminate the pregnancy without even understanding the situation to the end. Therefore, do not make any far-reaching conclusions, but be sure to consult with a specialist.
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