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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