Description

Health Checks to Have Before Becoming a Parent

An expecting mom wants the best for the delicate new life developing in her womb. However, many couples are not aware that the health of both parents plays a key role both before conception and throughout pregnancy. The health of the mother-to-be especially is intricately linked to the health of the fetus throughout the pregnancy. According to the ACOG, all women planning to have a child should undergo a preconception checkup. This enables your OB/GYN to determine whether there are issues that could negatively impact you or your baby’s health and correct these issues to optimize the outcome.

The most critical health factors for prospective parents are

• Diet and lifestyle
• Current medications
• Updating vaccinations
• Medical and family history

Age

While there is no clinical consensus as is the case for women, a reasonable definition of advanced paternal age is greater than 40 to 45 years. Studies have consistently reported that increasing male age is associated with an increased time to pregnancy and decreased pregnancy rates. Increasing paternal age is associated with changes in sperm DNA integrity, genetic variations (mutations) that can impact chromosomes structure and increase the risk of genetic diseases in the offspring. The risk of embryo chromosomal abnormalities does increase as men age but not to the known degree or at the same dramatic rate seen with increasing maternal age.

Advanced paternal age is associated with declining fertility and increasing miscarriages as well as increased risks of preterm births, and offspring with birth defects, autism, and schizophrenia.

Currently, there is no evidence to suggest an age above which you should not biologically procreate. However, given the increasing evidence, you may want to consider these risks in your family planning and/or look into freezing your sperm while you are in your 20s and 30s.

You Are Not Defined by Your Ability to Conceive Naturally

I believe we were all chosen to be someone special and unique. So, why do some of you have as much disappointment toward undergoing fertility treatment as you do toward your disease—because many of you view treatment as representing failure of your plan for the way it was meant to happen.

In over 20 years of talking to infertility patients just like you, I have yet to meet anyone—and I mean anyone—whose life is exactly as they planned it! It just doesn’t happen that way. Nevertheless, I believe we are defined by how we overcome adversity and maximize the success of our life irrespective of the bumps and bruises along the way. The ability to procreate is not a talent or a skill to boast. Rather, how we parent, contribute to our world, and/or bounce back from adversity are the characteristics to awe.