Isha Clinic.

Maternity

Why is it important?

All couples do not opt for pre-pregnancy counseling, but the counseling season is significant in most cases. In many cases, it is seen that a couple had a problem during the sessions of conceiving or any one of the partners have health issues that may result as a complication. Hence, counseling can help to solve such issues.

With the help of counseling, most of the problems faced during pregnancy by a couple may not occur. There are many reasons why pre-pregnancy counseling is essential. Some of the reasons are:

Counseling can help both the doctor and the couple to know whether it is the right time to conceive or not.

Couples who undergo pre-pregnancy counseling when they meet with non-pregnant women or men can understand the need for a counseling session. Therefore they get an opportunity to counsel about health habits and wellness, which may ultimately improve their obstetric and reproductive outcome.

Couples will get a chance to reduce the risk of severe health effects for the fetus, woman, and infant when born.

Any couple who opt for a counseling session must be informed to seek medical assistance before attempting to conceive or soon when they believe they can become pregnant on the appropriate date. The woman must be monitored regularly to assess for any need of medical condition.

Medical conditions such as hypertension, thyroid disease, diabetes have direct implications on pregnancy. With pre-pregnancy counseling, couples will get enough knowledge to seek help from experts to manage the conditions optimally.

Pre-pregnancy counseling involves reviewing all non-prescription and prescription medications. This scanning process will help to include herbal products and nutritional supplements that are not considered as medications but needed by patients as they affect pregnancy and reproduction.

For pregnant women, screening for identical genetic conditions is presented in the pre-pregnancy counseling sessions. This is highly commended for women who are conceiving.

Immunization status is assessed on an annual basis by women who are of reproductive age. It helps assess the Tdap or Tetanus toxoid, reduced Diphtheria toxoid, and Acellular Pertussis; rubella-measles-mumps; varicella, and hepatitis B.

The counseling session helps the patients to receive influenza vaccination annually. This will let the women who are pregnant or willing to be pregnant with additional benefits.

The pre-pregnancy counseling session helps to assess the requirement for STI or sexually transmitted infection screening.

Pre-pregnancy counseling is also necessary because patients will be asked about the use of nicotine products, alcohol, and drugs during the sessions. This will help the doctors assess what kind of prescribed medications the couple is consuming and what drugs will be best for them.

Who should go for it?

Anyone who wants proper guidance and avoids any complications during the days of pregnancy and after the newborn should opt for pre-pregnancy counseling. Here is a list of candidates who must try these counseling sessions, as it will surely benefit them a lot.

• Candidates who have tried repeatedly to conceive but failed to experience the desired outcomes.
• Have previous records of stillbirths and miscarriages.
• In the case of congenital disabilities in a previous child.
• Suppose the couple undergoes exposure to environmental toxins. It could harm the process of conception or hamper the fetus’s development during the days of pregnancy.
• In case the mother who is expecting suffers from any lifestyle conditions like low blood pressure or hypertension, diabetes, etc.
• If both of the partners suffer from any medical issues related to the liver, kidneys, heart, etc.
• If the pregnant mother had a record of a previous surgery affecting the pregnancy, for example, heart surgery or renal failure.
• In case the expectant mother is suffering from autoimmune diseases.

What does pre-pregnancy counseling include?

Pre-pregnancy counseling includes educating the couple as well as the entire family about different aspects of pregnancy. Here is a list of services that pre-pregnancy counseling includes:

• Best timing of pregnancy
• Pregnancy spacing and family planning
• Psychiatric, medical, and surgical histories reviewed
• Current medications reviewed
• Genetic and family history reviewed
• Immunizations
• Screening of any infectious disease
• Assessing individuals with HIV or Human Immunodeficiency Virus
• Assessing of any use of the substance
• Exposure to sexual and reproductive coercion, violence, and intimate partner violence
• Assessing of any nutritional status
• Reaching and continuing a healthy body weight
• Assessment of daily exercise and physical activity
• Dating for pregnancy
• Chronic disease management

What happens at a Pre-conception Counseling?

There are different kinds of assessments that happen during pre-pregnancy counseling. Here is a list of what happens during the session.

1. Chronic disease management



Any woman having a severe disease should review that with the doctor at pre-conception counseling before getting pregnant. This may help to reduce the chances of risks for both the child and the mother.



2. Genetic carrier and disorder states



During preconception counseling, families who had a history of genetic orders are referred to the genetic counselors. The risks of forwarding the disorders to the child are discussed.

3. Folic acid benefits

Counselors discuss that folic acid use in the early days of pregnancy or before getting pregnant might help prevent NTDs or Neural Tube Defects. During the session, women who are having the reproductive age are prescribed folic acids. This is asked to be continued during the pre-conception till the last day of pregnancy.

4. Pregnancy of short time interval

Maternal mortality, preterm delivery, maternal morbidity, rupture of the membrane in the early stage, myometritis, anemia, and third trimester bleeding are all associated with the pregnancy of short time intervals.

During the counseling session, the negative impact caused due to pregnancy of short time intervals will be reduced.

5. Cessation of smoking

Candidates will be given knowledge about the use of tobacco during the pre-conception days and during pregnancy. They are all associated with intrauterine growth retardation, preterm labor, placenta abruption, and low birth weight.

6. Use of alcohol

The woman and her partner will be given education about the negative impact of alcohol during the days of pregnancy. It is associated with fertility problems and fetal alcohol syndrome. There will be restrictions on the use of alcohol in case the couple is planning for a pregnancy.

7. Obesity

Diabetes, congenital heart diseases, hypertension, and increased risks of difficulty during delivery are associated with obesity. Doctors will suggest reducing obesity by prescribing proper medications or recommending to contact a dietician to avoid the complications related to obesity.

8. Underweight

Pre-conception counseling assesses the woman with malnutrition so that the risks for deficiency of nutrients decreases. Nutrient deficiency leads to preterm delivery and low birth weight.

9. Management of diabetes

During the pre-conception period, counseling focuses on education and disease management, weight management, knowledge about the expected risks to the mother and the child, optimal control caused due to increased level of diabetes.