Marriage is a commitment for life that should be taken very
seriously. When couples get married without knowing the state of their health,
it may cause problems later on. It is therefore imperative to find out your
medical history and that of your partner before you both tie the
knot.
Here are a few tests that you
should consider doing before getting married.
HIV AND SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED
DISEASES
Before you get married, it’s important that you and your partner to know your HIV status. Because the virus can be transmitted sexually, it is very important that both parties make sure they are free from the virus. It is also important to check for the possibility of other lifelong infections such as Hepatitis B and C and Herpes, as well as curable ones like gonorrhoea, syphilis, bacterial vaginosis, yeast infections, Chlamydia.
FERTILITY TEST
Many people get married with
hopes to one day become parents. Those hopes may, however, be shattered if any
of the pair is infertile. It is therefore important for intending couples to
consider doing fertility tests to avoid a sorry situation and the emotional
roller coaster associated with it.
Fertility tests include seminal
analysis, hormonal assay; pelvic ultrasound scans to ascertain the state of the
internal reproductive organs and so on.
GENOTYPE
This is one important test that
needs to be carried out especially by people of African descent to avoid giving
birth to children with the sickle cell disease.
The disease occurs when both
parents carry the sickle cell trait. The disease is lifelong and results in
serious illness. If you get tested and happen to carry the sickle cell trait, you
must avoid marrying a partner who also carries the sickle cell trait. If you
do, there is a chance of having a child that is of the SS genotype.
BLOOD GROUP
Many people usually consider the
importance of genotype tests but fail to realize how important blood group
tests can be. Blood group is not only important for when you may need a blood
transfusion, it’s also important in avoiding issues relating to the Rhesus
factor.
Your blood group can either be A,
B, O or AB but there’s another component referred to as the Rhesus factor which
is represented by the sign above your blood group. It can be either a positive
(+) or negative (-) sign. If a Rhesus negative woman marries a Rhesus Positive
husband, there is a 50% chance the baby will be rhesus positive.
Rh incompatibility usually isn’t
a problem if it’s the mother’s first pregnancy.
But antibody formation can happen
after fetal blood enters the mother’s circulation during birth, miscarriage or
abortion.
In this case, the woman’s immune
system reacts and creates Rh antibodies. These antibodies help drive an immune system attack
against the baby, which the mother’s body views as a foreign object.
If precautions are not taken
during pregnancy, this could lead to haemolytic anaemia of the newborn which
can result in jaundice, liver failure and heart failure. It can however be
prevented when a woman receives the Rhogam injection at various points during
the pregnancy.
Although, Rhesus incompatibility
is not necessarily a reason not to get married to your partner, it is great to
be informed so precaution can be made available when necessary.
CHRONIC DISEASES
Before getting married, it is important
to know if you have any chronic disease. This will help you and your partner
better prepare to look out for each other, should there be something wrong.
Early testing for conditions like
diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney disease, will enable couples to seek
medical assistance early enough and also make the necessary lifestyle
changes.
Carrying out these tests is also
important because existing chronic disease can affect the outcome of pregnancy.
These tests usually take longer
than the normal blood test. So invest in a thorough check up.
MENTAL HEALTH
EXAMINATION
A sound mental health of both
partners is important for a happy marriage. Some mental health conditions can
be passed on to offsprings, so it’s important for you to know about them
beforehand.
Conditions like schizophrenia,
depression, mood disorders, mania are among tests for mental examinations. The
tests should also include behavioural and personality disorders.
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