How To Use Dr Google!

We joke about it, but we all do it … google our health concerns. If you don’t know what you’re doing though, health information on the internet can be downright harmful. Navigate with care.

- Margot Bertelsmann & Engela Duvenage

You are trying to conceive – you may even be pregnant already, without knowing it. How exciting! But did you know you should visit your gynaecologist even while you’re trying to get pregnant, to get as ready as you can be for the day that sperm meets egg?

Most of us know about taking folic acid and a pregnancy multivitamin, attaining a healthy weight, not smoking or taking drugs, eating well and exercising, but there is one more thing to do: you should also check your immunity against certain diseases that are dangerous to foetuses, as well as undergoing screening via blood tests for inherited conditions if they run in your family. So you need to see your doctor IRL.

HIV

It is crucial that you know your status before becoming pregnant. Doctors no longer consider HIV a death sentence, but rather a manageable chronic illness if properly medicated. All pregnant women will routinely have a blood test to determine their HIV status, whether under private or government antenatal care. Your baby’s chances of contracting the virus are minimised if you follow the government’s prevention of mother-to child transmission programme (PMTCT) guidelines to the letter. You can ensure that your viral load is undetectable by taking ARVs before conception, and you can further protect your baby by ensuring you get good antenatal care during your entire pregnancy and after delivery. And don’t worry too much if you get diagnosed late. “Even late intervention can keep babies infection-free,” says Johannesburg gynaecologist Dr Nirvashni Dwarka.

“If you start receiving care at 34 weeks pregnant, we still have a good chance of protecting the baby.”

RUBELLA