How to give birth to a healthy baby?

Every woman wants to give birth to a healthy child, because health is the only thing that cannot be bought for any money. In the modern world it is very often possible to hear that healthy children are no longer being born. Indeed, the ecology, the lifestyle of men and women, the abundance of medications used, the prevalence of infections increased the likelihood of congenital abnormalities in babies. But is it difficult to give birth to a healthy toddler?

The article will discuss how the baby’s health depends, and what to do to increase the chances for a strong and healthy baby.

What the child’s state of health will be is mainly determined at the very moment when the sperm and egg cells of the parents' sex cells merge. That is, at the moment of conception, when the gametes exchange genetic information, it is already known what the child will be sick, whether he will have genetic pathologies, which diseases he will inherit from his mother or father, whether he will be allergic, whether he will have a fairly strong immunity.

Parents cannot influence the course of these events. The fusion of the DNA information of the maternal and paternal germ cells is a great mystery of nature, and it is difficult to say how everything goes. But in vain people think that nothing depends on them later. From a positive point of view, there is very little that can affect the health of a baby who is already developing in the womb - the basis, as we know, has been laid. But the negative impact is possible.

Ideally, the health of the future child should be taken care of before conceiving. Modern medicine has a lot of ways to prevent diseases, defects, early diagnosis of fetal pathology. Those who are accustomed to trusting only the meager figures of official statistics can cite the following data:

• 4940 children are born on average every day in Russia, of which 49% are girls and 51% are boys (the ratio may vary slightly);
• 39% of newborns receive top Apgar scores;
• 25% of children are born completely healthy;
• with minor abnormalities that are of physiological origin and do not require treatment, pass themselves, 21% of children are born;
• every third child has a congenital disease;
• about 2% of the total number of children of one year of birth are disabled children in Russia.

Thus, most children are still healthy, and It’s not entirely correct to say that there are fewer healthy newborns in Russia. But if we compare it with the figures of the Soviet period, the percentage of absolutely healthy children has indeed decreased.

In Soviet maternity hospitals, up to 40% of children were born by excellent formers. It is difficult to say what it is connected with - with the deterioration of the environment and the quality of products or with the advent of more accurate diagnostic equipment and medical techniques, the absence of which did not allow doctors of the Soviet period to detect these or other abnormalities early.

Only way to avoid genetic abnormalities and severe hereditary diseases - IVF with genetic diagnosis. In this case, the egg is fertilized in the laboratory with sperm, and after a few days, all the embryos obtained are genetically diagnosed. Patients are "rejected", healthy - transferred to the uterus of a woman. Such a diagnosis is carried out only according to the testimony of a geneticist, if there is a real chance that the child can inherit serious illness from the parents.

The health of the baby is made up not only of genetic information about hereditary diseases, but also of many factors - parental and external.

We list the parent risk factors.

• Age women and men. Previously it was thought that only the age of a woman was important, but now scientists have found out and proved that the age of the future father at the time of conception also largely determines the state of health of the baby. The fact is that with age, the quality of the DNA component of the germ cells of partners deteriorates, so the risk of having a chromosomal abnormality, for example, with Down's syndrome, Turner, Edwards and so on, increases.

This does not mean that after 45 years a woman and a man can not count on the birth of a healthy baby. The risks of pathologies are higher, but they are not 100%.

• Parent's health. The more chronic mom and dad mom and dad have, the higher the likelihood of pregnancy and childbirth complications. Chronic acquired diseases are not inherited by children, with the exception of HIV, and even then not always. But the existing problems with the heart, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, spine, and so on, the mother almost always complicates the process of carrying the fetus, since pregnancy itself contributes to the exacerbation of chronic diseases.

• Lifestyle. A man and a woman who do not abuse alcohol, drugs, nicotine, are much more likely to become the parents of the big-tempered than adults with bad habits. The fact is that genetic cells are made up of germ cells with long-term use of alcohol, drugs, and they mutate with long-term smoking. It is these mutations that cause not only chromosomal syndromes, but also malformations of the internal organs, external abnormalities and defects in a child. Perfectly healthy babies are rarely born from a drug addict or an alcoholic, even if a woman leads a normal life. Therefore, to conceive, and you need to prepare in advance, stop smoking, do not drink alcohol and other dangerous substances. Even if a woman smoked, but she quit in a year before conception, the chances of having a baby with normal indicators increase by 35%. If both partners have abandoned their bad habits - by 60%.

External factors - a set of conditions in which the pregnancy will occur, and which may affect the development of the fetus.

These include:

• environmental situation in the region where the parents live;
• food quality;
• adverse circumstances - radiation exposure, man-made disasters, and so on;
• social status of the family - domestic and economic living conditions of the pregnant, lack of nutritional deficiencies, vitamins;
• working conditions of the future mother - the type of production, harm, the severity of her physical labor;
• the quality of medical care in the presence of pregnancy and during childbirth.

Let's look at how a couple can reduce the possible risk factors that need to be done.

Start preparing for conception should be at least six months. Male genital cells require about 90 days for a full update, female cells are produced every month, but it will take 4 to 6 months to improve their quality. Thus, about six months before conception, the couple should visit two doctors: the woman goes to the gynecologist, the man goes to the urologist-andrologist. A woman is given a gynecological examination, a smear is taken to determine the state of the microflora of the genital tract, a colposcopy is performed to determine the state of the cervix, and an ultrasound of the pelvic organs is done.

A urologist examines a man, he hands over sperm for a laboratory test (spermogram). Both partners donate blood for HIV status, syphilis, viral hepatitis B and C, and tests for sexually transmitted infections. Genetics will also be worth visiting, especially for couples over the age of 36 years, as well as those who in the genus had cases of hereditary diseases, anomalies and chromosomal pathologies. You should also go to this specialist for couples who have had unsuccessful pregnancies that ended in miscarriages or missed abortion.

If there are abnormalities, infections, diseases of the reproductive organs, a decrease in the quality or number of spermatozoa in a man, then treatment is prescribed.

Even before conception, it is important for both partners to have a good sleep, to maintain a fairly active lifestyle, not to come into contact with toxic and radioactive substances, varnishes and paints, to eat healthy and saturated with protein and vitamins. Suppose with the permission of a doctor taking dietary supplements to improve fertility, improve the quality of germ cells of women and men.

If the spouses live in a gassed, dusty and large city, it is wise to move around the country - fresh air significantly improves spermogram performance and contributes to a more rapid conception of a strong and healthy baby.

As soon as conception took place, the spouses are notified of the positive results of the test, a woman needs to visit her obstetrician-gynecologist and register for pregnancy. It is better to do this earlier, as some deviations and risk factors become noticeable in the earliest terms. The Ministry of Health recommends that you get to the dispensary account before the 12th week of pregnancy.

A woman is being examined. She must pass a large set of tests, undergo an ultrasound, an obstetrician summarizes the risk factors and gives individual recommendations for the future mother. During pregnancy, a woman will have to donate blood from a vein twice and do an ultrasound scan as part of prenatal screenings. In the first and second trimester, these studies allow to establish the possible risks of having a baby with chromosomal abnormalities and fetal neural tube defects. Treat these surveys need with all responsibility.

If suddenly the risks are high, women will be offered more accurate methods of examination. - invasive and non-invasive genetic procedures and tests that will answer the most important question about the health of the child with an accuracy of 97-99%.

Special first trimester is dangerous, because in the first three months all the organs and systems of the embryo are formed. Negative external and internal factors can cause severe malformations and even fetal death.

Pregnant a woman needs to monitor her condition, contact a doctor in time with any questions and problems, avoiding self-treatment. And you also need to start preparing for childbirth in advance - to attend courses, learn proper breathing, learn everything about behave during contractions and an attempt, since history knows many cases when a healthy and full-term baby gets a birth trauma due to the lack of proper actions on the part of the woman in labor.

Spouses need to take a responsible approach to the choice of obstetric institution. Now that birth certificates are valid, a woman is free to decide where to give birth. And therefore you should choose a maternity hospital or a clinic for the soul, the specialists of which the woman in labor could fully trust. It is important to make sure that the hospital has all the conditions for resuscitation of newborns (just in case)that neonatologists are highly qualified. Do not be shy of your own curiosity, be sure to ask all the questions that arise, in order to understand whether the chosen obstetric institution is suitable for you.

Maximum effort must be made to avoid premature delivery. A healthy baby can be given birth after 37 weeks of gestation. All births that occur earlier are considered premature, and the shorter the period at which they occur, the higher the risks for the baby and the more unfavorable the predictions about its survival and subsequent health condition.

If obstetric risks exist, doctors will take all necessary measures to prolong the pregnancy. If there are no such risks, then the woman needs to remember that a violation of the recommendations may lead to an early onset of labor. You can not lift weights and experience excessive physical exertion, you can not take medicine without the knowledge of the doctor, you should avoid contracting sexually transmitted infections, which can cause infection and premature thinning and perforation of the membranes of the fetus.

A special place in the prevention of preterm labor is the issue of psychotherapy. A woman should not be nervous, worry, experience strong stress. If in her personal circumstances it does not work out in a different way, it is imperative that you seek the help of a psychologist in the antenatal clinic in order to find together ways out of the traumatic psychological situation.

With the onset of contractions, it must be remembered that the woman's mother’s own actions determine how high the probability of birth injuries will be. It is necessary to breathe correctly and measuredly, to apply poses that relieve pain during labor. In time you need to come to the hospital. It is necessary to straighten out at attempts only at the command of the obstetrician, not forgetting about the breathing technique. Shouting is not recommended.

In conclusion, I would like to note that a lot depends on how well a woman is configured for pregnancy and childbirth. If she constantly thinks about possible pathologies in a baby, the risks of giving birth to a sick baby are increased. Self-confidence and faith in your crumbs, in his well-being, are able to perform real miracles..

For information on how to give birth to a genetically healthy baby, see the next video.