When planning to have children, women are advised to have a battery of tests to make sure their health is in order and ready to have a baby, thus eliminating potential risk factors. After age 40, these risks tend to increase, since from this age, the chances of the mother developing gestational diabetes, suffering eclampsia and the baby born with Down syndrome are higher.
Similarly, after pregnancy, doctors require prenatal care, a series of new tests done to ensure that everything goes well with mom and baby both during pregnancy and after delivery.
In this scenario, the role of the father, a decisive figure in the whole process, was sometimes neglected, a fact that tends to change after studies and findings that state that, like women, men should also undergo examinations that investigate their health conditions both during pregnancy planning and during pregnancy.
This finding was made from a study published in the prestigious journal Nature, which, contrary to what was imagined, the participation of men in the conception of a child is much larger than expected. In a survey of 78 families, it was found that the risk of a child having autism or schizophrenia increases with the age of the parent, especially after age 40.
This evidence reinforced the need to advise men to have a preventive checkup to prevent any health problems from directly or indirectly affecting the baby and the mother.
With this measure, everyone wins. The father, who certifies that he is in good health, is calmer to be able to raise his son, the mother, whose health is preserved at this important stage and especially the baby who is raised with the tranquility of having less risk of develop communicable diseases.
In Brazil, the Ministry of Health intends to encourage men to perform periodic examinations more frequently, through a strategy that uses this moment of paternity. At this stage, they tend to become more sensitive and aware that their responsibility needs to increase before they can raise a child. The idea is to take advantage of this moment to encourage them to take the exams to ensure that they can have more health and peace of mind to raise the children who are about to come and who will need them for a lifetime.
Male prenatal care is a set of preventive exams that are done during pregnancy planning or during pregnancy, along with female prenatal care. Among the tests performed are serology and blood tests, which identify sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis, HIV and hepatitis, diseases that can pass to both women and babies.
By identifying any of these diseases before becoming pregnant, the couple can prevent themselves by performing some treatment that reduces the risk of contagion to the baby or even rethink if they want to have the child, as depending on the severity, the child may be born with severe sequelae and until dead. If identification is made during pregnancy, the risks are greater, but the mere fact that you have identified the possibility of contagion already helps to take measures to prevent contagion before the baby is born.
Hypertension, diabetes and cholesterol tests are also performed, and others such as preventive prostate exams are indicated as phimosis surgery, vasectomy, among others, depending on the case, and future dads are also encouraged to attend their prenatal care. partners, accompanying them in their consultations and attending classes that address basic baby care such as food and hygiene.
The male or prenatal check-up project of the partner, as it has been called, is already present in large states of Brazil such as Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Distrito Federal, among others, and is gradually spreading to other cities in a process that tends to be slow, as men are more culturally resistant to going to doctors and when they go, they are already at an advanced stage.
Most important of all is knowing that you don't play with your own health or anyone else's health. So if you are thinking of having a child, talk to your partner and convince him or her to have all the necessary exams with you to ensure a smooth pregnancy. After all, for any family, nothing is more important than the health of the children. , and in good health, you will always be ready to face and enjoy all the other phases to come. Take care of yourself!
Antenatal Education Class - a guide to pregnancy and caring for your baby (April 2024)
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