12 september is the day to prevent birth defects. How to prevent birth defects and ensure nutrition during pregnancy? Journalists interviewed experts at the beijing maternity hospital, affiliated to the medical university of the capital。
“contribution of birth defects is multiple, including genetic, environmental, etc. With regard to birth defects, we have been advocating `three levels of prevention'.” according to kang haili, deputy director of perinatal medicine, beijing maternity hospital, medical university of the capital, primary prevention refers to pre-marital, pre-pregnancy and early pregnancy examinations and counselling, secondary prevention is prenatal screening and prenatal diagnosis during pregnancy, and tertiary prevention is a special check-up of congenital and genetic diseases after the birth of the newborn child, so as to enable early detection of birth defects, early intervention and early recovery。
At present, there are a number of technical tools available to effectively reduce birth defects. According to chon haely, for example, genetic screening and genetic counselling, such as deaf genes and spinal atrophysics, are available before and during pregnancy, especially for couples with family history of genetic diseases or poor maternal history, which contributes to early diagnosis and intervention; structural defects such as brainlessness, open spinal fractures, arrhythmia, severe chest and abdominal defects, and osteoporosis can be detected through ultrasound tests during pregnancy; and pre-natal serosic screening and uninvited prenatal screening techniques have been widely applied to help to determine the existence of chromosomal-related disease anomalies in the foetus, such as 21 triform syndromes, 18 triform syndromes, 13 tribody syndromes, and chromosomal micromiss/microplications, including even single genetic diseases。
In general, a healthy lifestyle should be maintained during pregnancy and pregnancy, timely marriage and pregnancy tests should be conducted, tobacco and alcohol should be eliminated, unauthorized medication should be avoided and toxic and harmful substances should be removed. It is recommended that 0. 4 mg folic acid be replenished daily between the first three months of pregnancy and the first three months of pregnancy to prevent neural tube malformations。
Adequate nutrition during pregnancy is also important. “ingestion during pregnancy is too low, which directly affects the growth and development of the foetus, while over-ingestion may lead to an excessive increase in the weight of pregnant women and increase the risk of diabetes during pregnancy and hypertension during pregnancy.” zheng wei, deputy researcher of the nutrition and endocrine shearing section of the beijing maternity hospital, university of medical sciences of the capital。
Eating during pregnancy should be based on the principles of food diversity, cereal dominance and rational matching. Zheng wei recommended that the staple food be consumed by 200-250 grams per day, of which about one third were cereals and beans, with an appropriate mix of potatoes to provide vitamin b, minerals and dietary fibres. Vegetable intake is not less than 300 grams per day and fresh dark vegetables should account for more than half; fruits with low-liter sugar indices, such as apples, pears, peaches, grapefruit, blueberries, strawberries, etc。
Every effort is made to ensure that between one and two cups of milk are consumed every day during pregnancy, and that a suitable intake of beans products, such as approximately 100 grams of tofu or a large cup of soy milk, is taken. On the basis of a balanced diet, iron-rich food should be regularly eaten, iodized salt should be chosen, and folic acid and vitamin d should be reasonably replenished. From the middle of pregnancy, the pregnant woman is also required to perform a mid-intensity physical activity of 30 minutes per day。
How should nutritional intake be ensured when many pregnant women have different levels of pregnancy response? Zheng wei said that when the pregnancy response seriously affects food consumption, pregnant women need not overemphasize the need to balance meals and regular meals, and should choose food that is light and easy to digest, based on their tastes, in a way that gives priority to food intake. Vitamin b6 can also be increased in appropriate quantities to try some ginger-bearing foods, such as ginger milk and ginger sugar cane juice, in order to reduce pregnancy。
Reporter yang zhang
Daily people's journal (15 september 2025, 13th edition)
