Health tests that must be done before marriage

10 years of married life of Tanya and Rakib couple. They have a seven-year-old daughter. But the child is suffering from thalassemia. The doctor said that this disease could have been prevented if the husband and wife had done a blood test before marriage.

The names are fictitious but the people are real. Such incidents are often seen around us. So before marriage, some urgent health check-up is necessary, otherwise many such undesirable events may happen in life.

Health checkups that should be done before marriage :

1. Hemoglobin Electrophoresis : Through the test, it is known whether the bride or groom is suffering from thalassemia or not, or a carrier of this disease. If both the bride and groom are carriers of this disease, their child may develop incurable diseases like thalassemia. Hence marriage between thalassemia carriers is discouraged out of concern for unborn children.

2. Blood Grouping and Rh Typing : There is no problem in conceiving a child if the blood group of the bride and groom are the same. However, the Rhesus or Rh factor of the blood group is very important (meaning whether the blood group is positive or negative). Because if the mother is Rh negative, but the father is Rh positive, the unborn child can suffer from a serious life-threatening disease called erythroblastosis fetalis while still in the womb. However, even if the mother is Rh negative, but the father is Rh positive, it is possible to give birth to a healthy child if treated under the supervision of a specialist doctor from the time of first conception.

3. Detection and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases : AIDS, syphilis, gonorrhea, hepatitis B, hepatitis C etc. serious diseases can be spread from one person's body to another's body through sexual intercourse between husband and wife. Early detection and proper treatment of these diseases before marriage keeps both the bride and groom safe and confident and can prevent future transmission of these diseases to children.

4. Infertility Test : Infertility problem is increasing day by day. So before marriage both the bride and groom should be tested for infertility. In this case, the health and number of sperm tests in men and pelvic ultrasonography and various hormones, such as thyroid stimulating hormone or TSH, prolactin, testosterone, follicle stimulating hormone or FSH, luteinizing hormone or LH, etc. can be tested in the case of women.

5. Hereditary Disease Testing : Hereditary diseases are passed from generation to generation. Hence screening for hereditary diseases should be done before marriage, especially between close relatives.

6. Chronic Disease Screening : Both the husband and wife should know whether one is suffering from these diseases or not and should inform the other by getting checked for diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, thyroid hormone problems etc.

7. Mental illness : Many people think that mental illness will be cured by marriage, which is not true at all. Mental diseases such as schizophrenia, depression, bipolar mood disorder etc. should be diagnosed and treated before marriage and they should be married at the right time as per the advice of a psychiatrist.

So, to enter into a safe, secure and happy married life, it is important to consider the social aspects as well as the health aspects.