Couples who want to get pregnant have only one dream in their minds: to see a beautiful baby born that fills their lives with love and happiness. But also, future parents must be aware that, before that time comes, both must take care of themselves and inform themselves to have a safe pregnancy for both the mother and her child.
Pregnancy is a wonderful adventure for any human being, however, we must keep in mind that it is a life project that requires all maturity and responsibility to make it happen in the healthiest way possible.
To prepare for this long-awaited moment, InSer specialist, Dr. Walter Osorio recommends a series of measures that will help prepare for a pregnancy safely and successfully. These are:
Go to the doctor:
When you decide as a couple that it is time to have a baby, the recommendation is to go to the gynecologist to perform a preconceptional consultation, in which the specialist will focus on investigating all relevant medical history of the couple, including family history and genetics. The objective is to detect risks of suffering infertility, complications during pregnancy or alterations in the health of the baby. The risks found will be controlled and prevented with different interventions that vary in their complexity, from the application of vaccines and the necessary modifications in lifestyle, to the implementation of assisted reproduction techniques, when they are required to improve the possibility of having healthy children.
In the preconception consultation, the doctor may need both the man and the woman some diagnostic aids in order to evaluate their fertility: In addition, adapt some lifestyle habits to achieve pregnancy. These are:
Transvaginal ultrasound:
This is an issue that generates diverse reactions in women. Some will avoid by all means having to expose themselves to this exam because they are afraid that it will hurt them or simply out of modesty, while others will be willing to perform it because they know its importance and believe in the professionalism of the person who practices it. The most important thing is that each woman lives her own experience and makes the decision to access the exam depending on the confidence that her gynecologist transmits to her and her ability to understand the indications and importance of performing it. With ultrasound in the preconceptional stage, birth malformations can be detected in the uterus, ovulation problems or alterations in the uterine cavity or in the walls of the uterus that may require intervention to improve the chance of getting pregnant or improve the chances of carrying a pregnancy safely.
Blood and urine tests:
Not only is the anamnesis and knowledge of clinical risk factors. It is also important to evaluate the functioning of certain systems in women and sometimes in men to improve the chances of reproductive success. An example of this is Prolactin and thyroid function. There are serious clinical studies that warn of the importance of having a properly controlled thyroid axis and prolactin to allow effective ovulation, even these functions have been linked to the quality of the eggs that are available each month for fertilization and to the chance of implantation that the embryos formed have. In addition It is clear in the scientific literature that thyroid hormone requirements change according to the gestational stage that is taking place, and that is why it is ideal for a woman to start her reproductive search with a thyroid in good condition and with all the capacity to react to these requirements. Other tests that will be ordered at the preconception visit are:
– Hemoleukogram with platelet evaluation: allows us to know the hemoglobin, some aspects of the immune system and the coagulation system that are crucial in this process.
– Blood classification: Some maternal blood types require special follow-ups during pregnancy to define the risk of fetal anemia and other risks for future pregnancies.
– Urinalysis (cytochemical and culture): it can detect urinary tract infections in a timely manner and therefore indicate their treatment to prevent complications such as the threat of premature birth and abortion. In addition, it can detect the risk of having metabolic problems such as diabetes, among others.
– Evaluation related to sexually transmitted infections such as syphilis, HIV, Hepatitis B and C: to timely refer patients to special programs that prevent vertical transmission of these diseases, as well as cervicovaginal cytology to carry out adequate control in patients who require special monitoring.
Semen analysis:
When a couple makes the decision to grow their family to welcome their children, it is important to understand that the wait for a baby can be a bit long. This is because humans have a limited reproductive capacity compared to other mammalian species that for evolutionary reasons have developed better survival mechanisms.
However, even knowing and understanding this situation, we would all like the wait for this new family member to be as short as possible to avoid exhaustion and stress in the process. In addition, some clinical studies have shown that relationships can be affected or deteriorated when the wait is longer and when the reproductive connotation of sexual relations begins to be the protagonist. A semen analysis that meets the minimum requirements described by the WHO can give us assurance that attempts to achieve reproduction are not in vain and that it is a matter of luck to find pregnancy. This avoids prolonging the wait unnecessarily and allows interventions to be carried out whenever necessary.
Finding the period of greatest fertility:
Apart from paraclinical examinations (tests or analyses that serve to expand a specific diagnosis) that help determine a woman’s reproductive capacity and endocrine functioning, it is important to understand that there is a window of opportunity for fertilization and pregnancy that opens up every month in a woman’s ovarian cycle. There are different techniques to try to identify this moment and improve the possibility of getting pregnant, including ultrasound monitoring of the ovarian cycle, detection tests for the peak ovulatory LH (luteinizing hormone) and thermal curve assessment devices (Daysy). These are all resources that can be used to find the most fertile period and improve the chances of getting pregnant faster.
Aspects related to vaccination:
The existence of antibodies that protect the future mother from suffering from some infectious diseases during pregnancy should be investigated. If deficiencies are detected in this aspect, it is necessary to go to the specialized center to catch up on the vaccination schedule, since if you contract an infection by any of them during pregnancy, it can have devastating consequences for babies. For this reason, an antibody titration for chickenpox, cytomegalovirus and rubella is performed. In addition, the immunity status for toxoplasma is also being investigated because, although there is still no vaccine for this germ, other strategies and care can be implemented to prevent toxoplasmosis in pregnancy.
Taking folic acid:
Folic acid is one of the micronutrients or supplements that have been shown to have an impact on the neurological health of babies. It can prevent defects in the closure of the neural tube, which is one of the first events to occur in intrauterine life. Therefore, it is ideal for every woman who is looking to get pregnant to start taking it beforehand so that her body has sufficient levels and functions properly when she gets pregnant. Three months is indicated according to some Studies investigating the impact of this micronutrient on embryonic development.
At Inser we are here to help you fulfil the dream of becoming parents. Contact us at our offices in Bogotá, Medellín, Pereira, Rionegro and Cartagena and so together we will achieve your desire to start a family.
[1]De Regil LM, et al. Cochrane Database of Systematic Review, Issue o1, 2012 [1]World Health Organization. “WHO Laboratory Manual for the examination and processing of human semen” Cambridge: Cambridge University. fifth Edition (2010).
[1]Akhtar MA, et al. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2014, Issue 3. Art. No.: CD011009.
[1]Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Green-top Guideline No. 17. London: RCOG; 2011.
[1]Mintziori. et al. J Endocrinol Invest. 2016 Aug; 39(8):849-53.
