Gynecologist spoke about controversial issues of pregnancy: from discharge to screenings

Many pregnant women experience discharge, fear frequent ultrasound and worry about age-related risks. On the air of the talk show “PRO HEALTH” on the YouTube channel “SEE AND LIVE”, the gynecologist of the Minsk City Clinical Endocrinology Center Anna Luzan dispelled the main myths and gave practical recommendations when and what examinations are really needed.

Menstruation during pregnancy – myth or reality? - That happens. It occurs more often in women of a younger age - about 30 years. A woman feels that something is wrong in her body, goes for examination, and there it turns out that she is pregnant. When the doctor begins to question more carefully, it turns out that those discharges that the woman perceived as menstruation and considered normal were not as regular and were more scarce. That is, in fact, it was not menstruation, the guest of the studio emphasized. Indeed, sometimes, for example, at the time of attachment of the fetal egg, there may be bloody brown discharge - and this may be a variant of the norm. In addition, some bleeding may occur in the early stages, but it is not menstruation per se - just bleeding in the early stages of pregnancy. It happens that it coincides in time with what a woman considers her regular cycle, and then pregnancy can be overlooked. This is no reason to refuse a visit to the doctor. In this case, we try to prescribe all the necessary ultrasound in time so that the woman has time to pass them, as well as quickly identify possible deficiencies in the body and take the necessary tests. We're doing our best. Such situations happen, so it is important to remember: it will not be superfluous to do a pregnancy test. Don't panic.

Screenshot of video Does frequent ultrasound and Doppler examination in the early stages harm the fetus? This is a very common fear in pregnant women, especially if the pregnancy is long-awaited. The International Association for Ultrasound during pregnancy conducted a study, according to which it was found that ultrasound during pregnancy does not harm the fetus. You can do ultrasound at least every day, there will be no effect on the child, the gynecologist noted. There are certain pathologies when you need to control what happens to the baby, whether everything is OK with him, but these are rare cases. If we talk about the normal course of pregnancy, then there should be three main screening ultrasound: from the 11th to the 14th week, from the 18th to the 22nd and from the 32nd to the 35th. That's enough. It cannot be said that women's fears about ultrasound are completely unfounded, because during the study, in addition to the actual ultrasound, dopplerometry is also used (it is carried out to study blood flow in the fetal vessels and uterine vessels). So we can figure out if the baby is getting enough nutrition. Also, these surveys can indirectly, for example, to detect anemia in a child according to the relevant indicators. The effect of Doppler lasts less than a minute or two - during this time there will be no pathological effect. The older the woman, the more anomalies the baby may have? This is partly true and partly not true, but overall the risk is higher. First of all, it is worth noting such chromosomal pathology as Down syndrome: the risk of its appearance increases with age. For example, the risk of 30 years is about 1 case in 712 pregnancies, and at 40 years - 1 case in 86 pregnancies. This is more common than at any other age. That is why women over 35 years old, and especially over 40 years old, recommend an invasive diagnosis to check whether the child has this pathology. Screenings, ultrasound and biochemical examination of the mother’s blood do not allow to detect Down syndrome in 100% of cases. Therefore, in certain situations, especially after 40 years, geneticists strongly recommend undergoing the procedure of amniocentesis - an examination of amniotic fluid, with which you can see what chromosomes and in what amount the fetus has. Watch the PRO HEALTH project on the Watch and Live YouTube channel every Sunday at 12:00. Specialists in various fields will answer popular questions of concern to everyone in simple language and with humor.