Photography: Turtle Bay
Many of us, whether by choice or not, are not fully aware of our state of health. And even if you appear in the pink of health, you may be a silent carrier for infectious or hereditary diseases that could affect your children, or chances of conceiving. That is why increasingly couples are starting to see the importance of having a pre-marital health examination.
Over at Gynae MD Women's & Rejuvenation Clinic, obstetrician gynaecologist Dr Christopher Ng offers numerous screening packages for women of all ages. For those about to tie the knot, he suggests a pre-conception programme that includes a pap smear, pelvic ultrasound, full blood count, and hepatitis and HIV screening, among others.
"The tests are designed to identify potential health problems that may have an impact on one's fertility and also to detect some of the chronic infectious diseases, sexually transmitted diseases and hereditary disorders like thalassemia, which may affect the couple's future children," says Dr Ng.
Increasingly, he's also noticed that men are coming to see him for health screenings to test for fertility issues. "It is usually the woman who sees me first, but I've seen an increasing number of couples coming together to get screened as they become more aware that conceiving is a joint effort."
During the health screening, a complete medical history will be taken to assess pre-existing medical conditions and family history of hereditary diseases or abnormal children. These are some of the things you will be tested for: Venereal disease (aka STD), Hepatitis B, HIV, Rubella and Rhesus Factor.
