Crux of the Matter weekly tweetchat was live last Friday and our guest was Dr. Iyewande Dipeolu – @Wandedip. Doctor Dipeolu is a Medical doctor, Mental Health Advocate and Sec. Gen./Co-founder, Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative @MentallyAwareNG
In the 2hours tweetchat session, Dr. Dipeolu enlightened us on MEDICAL TESTS TO DO BEFORE MARRIAGE.
Most people enter marriage without adequate knowledge of their partner’s health status. It is imperative for you and your spouse to seek proper medical checkup to prevent unnecessary stress.
Catch up on the recap of the Tweetchat session below:
What are pre-marital tests?
Premarital tests are simply medical investigations that are done by intending couples before marriage. These tests offer a crucial health assessment of soon-to-be married couples in which they are tested for genetic Infectious and transmissible diseases to prevent any risk of transmitting any disease to each other and their children.
Importance of Pre-Marital Tests
Marriage is considered a remarkable event in a person’s life, & the knowledge of your intending partner’s health status doesn’t imply that marriage is not possible, but provides an avenue to make an informed decision. Premarital tests enables you & your spouse to seek proper medical care early to prevent unnecessary stress/burdens during marriage. Pre-marital screening helps identify potential health problems and risks to the partners and also their offspring.
Necessary medical tests to do before marriage
There are a couple of tests that are important for intending couples. A few I’m sure we’re familiar with but I’ll mention:
- Genotype: There are 5 major genotypes in Nigeria though most of us are only familiar with 3.They are AA, AS, AC, SS & SC. Knowing your genotype is important in the prevention of sickle cell anaemia as the chances of propagating the disease are increased with an AS/AS, AS/SS, AS/AC, AC/SS, AC/SC, SS/SS, SC/SC or SS/SC pairing.
- Blood Group: There are 4 blood groups (A,B,O & AB) and two rhesus types (positive and negative). This helps you know if you’re eligible to donate blood to your spouse in event of an emergency. It also helps the physician take necessary precautions during and after Labour in cases of a rhesus disparity. It’s extremely convenient being able to donate for them. Some hospitals might procure blood but ask u to donate to replace
- Hepatitis B: This is a chronic viral infection that is easily transmitted through blood and body fluids with no cure. Though the viral load can be monitored and immunoglobulin given(expensive)
- Hepatitis C: is a viral infection also that can cause both acute and chronic illness with some progression to Chronic liver diseases like Liver cirrhosis& even liver cancer. It’s also transmitted through blood and body fluids
- HIV: we’ve almost all heard the JOB story & why it’s necessary to have a test done, to protect both spouse & offspring.
- Other sexually transmitted diseases (Syphilis, Gonorrhea, Chlamydia) can also be screened out.
- Genetic testing: Identify carriers of genetic disorders (at the gene/chromosome level), in order to assess the risk of having children with a severe form of the disease especially when each parent has a recessive gene e.g Haemophilia (Haemophilia is a bleeding disorder in which blood doesn’t clot on time as there’s a deficiency of some clotting factor)
- Hormone profile & Seminal Fluid Analysis: These are fertility tests for both males and females. They’re not as important as the previous tests but can be done for couples keen on having children
- Tumor markers: These are done for those with a family history of cancer as they’re at a higher risk than most. It also keeps you and your spouse conscious & you don’t get caught unawares. It’s not compulsory though.
It’s always best to have the “past and current medical history” conversation with your intended before things go far to know what you can and cannot handle. Some diseases are communicable e.g HIV, Hep. B; while others aren’t e.g seizures. Some can also be transmitted to the offspring or increase their chances of being affected.
Regardless of all these, honesty is key. If they love you enough/think they can handle it, fine; if not, it’s all still OK
Else you’ll be consciously ensnaring them into a situation they’ll resent you for and by then, love may not be enough.
Join us every Friday by 7pm on twitter with the hashtag #CruxoftheMatter for interesting and insightful conversations. Also watch Crux of the Matter on R2TV (GOTV 112) every Wednesday/Thursday at 9:30pm.
