Awarenes linked to miscarriages

Leo Wahyudi S., The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Many expectant couples in the country lack proper understanding of reproductive health issues, unaware of the severe long-term consequences for their still-unborn child.

Obstetrician Hasnah Siregar lamented her experience with young couples, many of whom lacked awareness, with some even oblivious to the necessity of recognizing practical health aspects.

"Young mothers now are simply not aware," Hasnah said, noting that many do not even have a personal record of their own state of health.

"I am very disappointed about Indonesian women, who seem to be unconcerned about their own menstrual periods," she remarked.

"It is no wonder that they then complain a lot about their pregnancies."

On one hand they expected to bear intelligent babies, but they were actually ignorant of what to do during their pregnancy, Hasnah said during a seminar held at Siloam Gleneagles Hospital, titled How to Create an Intelligent Child.

She also revealed the surprising results of a study, conducted here five years ago, which found that miscarried embryos were found in the menstrual blood of almost half of the women in the survey.

Without fully elaborating, Hasnah pointed to simple ignorance and carelessness as being the root cause.

During the seminar, another obstetrician, Dachrial Daud, urged expectant mothers to ensure they had enough rest, maintained adequate nutrition and had a healthy lifestyle.

A favorable life environment would enable them to avoid stressors, a factor that could lead to depression, he added.

An often important, yet overlooked factor, is the role of the father.

Dachrial underlined the role of the father in maintaining a harmonious relationship with the expectant mother.

Similarly, Hasnah pointed out that the relationship between the mother and father would already begin to influence the emotional development of the embryo from the 16th week.

She said healthy pregnancies were very much affected by favorable psychological factors from both parents.

M. Louise, a psychologist who is deputy coordinator of the Parents Education Program at Harapan Kita Hospital, stressed the significance of the psychological comfort and understanding given by the father to the expectant mother.

Only when there was no psychological irritation during pregnancy could an intelligent and emotionally healthy child be born, Louise said.