Even during fetal development, all fetal organ systems, including the reproductive, are laid in the fetus. It turns out that the child has not yet been born, and his health, from the point of view of reproduction, is either quite safe, or has already received its share of negative impact.
Reproductive health is a component of the general condition of the body. It turns out that it directly depends on the mother’s lifestyle during pregnancy, as well as on the health of the father.
The concept of reproductive health
This term is directly related to demographic science, which studies the level of mortality and fertility in society. But reproductive health is part of a person’s overall health, which implies physical, spiritual, and social well-being.
If we talk about the health of the reproductive system, we have in mind not only the absence of diseases in the reproductive system, impaired functions, but also mental state and social well-being.
Currently, reproductive health is not only taken care of by doctors, but also by psychologists and sociologists.
Statistical data
Statistics is a stubborn thing, and in recent years it has provided increasingly disappointing results. Our young generation leads a wrong lifestyle, and in some cases has a heredity not very good, so a large percentage of young people risk replenishing the army of childless.
The reproductive health of adolescents is poor. Factors that adversely affect it include:
- early onset of sexual activity;
- a large percentage of sexually transmitted diseases;
- a huge number of young people who drink alcohol and smoke.
All this leads to the fact that very young girls still have an abortion, and this cannot but affect their reproductive health. This leads to various diseases in the reproductive system, violations of the monthly cycle. The trouble is that young people are not in a hurry to see a doctor at the first symptoms of the disease, hoping that everything will soon normalize by itself.
Now a large number of children are already born with certain pathologies, but what can we say about their health when they are approaching the age when it is time to start a family and give birth to children?
According to statistics, by the beginning of family life, almost one in two has chronic diseases that can directly or indirectly affect human reproductive health.
That is why lately this issue has been of concern to not only medical workers, but the whole society. Healthy children are our future, and how can they be born as such when their future parents cannot boast of their reproductive health?
Reproductive Health Conditions
Reproductive health of a person and society is closely interconnected. The question arises, what can be done to ensure that the next generation is born healthy and able to give birth to the same healthy children? If you carefully study the recommendations, then there is nothing impracticable in them:
- The very first thing that any teenager who has sex should know is that protection from unwanted pregnancy should be in the first place.
- Engage actively in the prevention and treatment of all diseases of the genital area.
- Modern contraceptives allow you to prevent unwanted pregnancy, you need to use them.
- Adequate treatment for all sexually transmitted infections.
- It is advisable to plan any pregnancy.
- Lead a healthy lifestyle.
- Strictly observe the rules of personal hygiene, and this applies not only to girls, but also to men.
- Strengthen your immunity.
- Try to eat right and not eat foods that are harmful to health.
Rules that anyone can quite follow, but, unfortunately, not everyone thinks about it. And the reproductive health of adolescents will certainly affect their state in adulthood, the health and well-being of their children.
The direct responsibility of parents is to constantly educate girls and boys in these matters.
Reproductive Vitamins
Everyone has long known that without vitamins a person begins to have problems in the work of internal organs and systems. Many of the vitamins and trace elements have a direct impact on the reproductive health of the population.
Among them, the following are especially worth noting:
- Vitamin A is involved in the synthesis of an intermediate product of sex hormones. With its lack of diet in the male population, the process of sperm formation is disrupted, and women can even develop infertility.
- Inadequate vitamin E causes a decrease in seminal fluid formation in men, and in women pregnancy can be interrupted at different times.
- Vitamin C is almost universal, it affects the work of many organ systems. Admission in large doses of this vitamin can even get rid of some varieties of male infertility.
- Folic acid is necessary for the proper development of the baby in the womb. Her deficiency in a woman’s body before pregnancy and in the first months of bearing a child leads to the development of birth defects in the baby’s nervous system.
- Iodine is needed for the normal functioning of the thyroid gland, without which the proper functioning of the reproductive system is simply impossible. If a woman is catastrophically short of this element during pregnancy, then there is a high probability that the baby will be born with a diagnosis of "cretinism."
You can talk a lot about the other vitamins and minerals, but there should be only one conclusion: reproductive health is one of the important components of a person’s overall health. What it will be, largely depends on our nutrition.
Woman's health
The reproductive health of a woman begins to form in the womb. When a girl develops in the abdomen, already at that moment the formation of future germ cells occurs. How many of them will form during this period, so much later will mature during the reproductive period of a woman’s life.
It turns out that the expectant mother is responsible for the formation of her daughter's reproductive system. After birth and in adulthood, each representative of the fair sex herself can well affect her health, including reproductive, positively or negatively.
From early childhood, it is necessary to educate and instill in the girls the right basics of hygiene and personal care with their mother’s milk. Sometimes mothers do not pay due attention to this issue, hence the large number of diseases of the genital and excretory spheres in very young girls.
Superiority among such problems is occupied by inflammatory diseases of the reproductive system. If left untreated, they become chronic and can significantly affect the reproductive health of women in the future.
You should probably not talk about the prevention of early abortions, especially the first ones, which can once and for all put an end to future motherhood.
Reproductive Health Components
They affect our body throughout life. Already being born, the child receives from his parents at the genetic level some health indicators, metabolic characteristics, and a predisposition to certain problems.
In the first years of the baby's life, care for health, including reproductive, falls on the shoulders of the parents. They should lay the foundations of a healthy lifestyle for a child and explain the importance of this for the health of his unborn children.
For some reason, it is customary to talk more about the reproductive health of women, although in recent years it has been revealed that men in 50% of cases are also responsible for the absence of children in the family.
Disease and Reproductive Function
Currently, there is a huge list of diseases that adversely affect the reproductive health of the family.
- Infectious diseases. Among them, there are those that can lead to infertility, for example, chickenpox, mumps, especially in boys. There is no need to talk about sexually transmitted infections.
- Somatic diseases. Problems with the cardiovascular system, kidneys, liver, diabetes mellitus can not only worsen the condition of the body, but also disrupt the hormonal background, and this cannot but affect reproductive health.
- Congenital diseases. Many doctors are convinced that in most cases infertility originates from early childhood. And this applies to both boys and girls.
- Taking medications. Some have a fairly strong effect on reproductive function. These include:
- corticosteroids;
- anticonvulsant drugs;
- antidepressants;
- tranquilizers;
- antipsychotics.
Of course, in some situations, these drugs simply can not be dispensed with, but it is always necessary to assess the health risk, especially if you are still going to have children.
External environment and reproductive health
Reproductive health is not only the state of the human sexual sphere, but also general well-being, which is not always at a high level. A large number of external factors have the most direct effect on reproductive function.
- Stress. Our life is such that stressful situations lie in wait almost everywhere: at home and at work. From this there is a chronic lack of sleep, fatigue, the development of neurosis - and now there is already a violation in the reproductive system.
- Bad habits. A large number of both women and men drink alcohol and smoke. This affects the formation of germ cells, they can already receive various defects at this stage. What healthy children can we talk about if the eggs and sperm cells are initially unhealthy!
- Genital injuries, especially in men, disrupt spermatogenesis and lead to a decrease in sexual function.
- The effect of heat. There are workshops in the production where the technological cycle goes at elevated temperatures. Some doctors are of the opinion that it is harmful to the male body. It is for this reason that it is not recommended for boys to wear diapers for a long time.
- Improper nutrition. An excess of chemistry in modern products leads not only to general health problems, but also affects our reproductive function. The basics of proper nutrition must be laid in a child from childhood.
It will not be possible to completely get rid of such an impact, but everyone has the power to change the situation for the better and to some extent eliminate or reduce the impact of negative factors.
Reproductive Health Risk Factors
In the scientific community, various studies have long been conducted on the influence of factors on the health of pregnant women and generally on the female sex in reproductive age. During long-term observations, several groups of factors were identified:
- Socio-psychological. This is the effect of stress, nervous tension, and feelings of anxiety and fear.
- Genetic. The presence or absence of mutations in germ cells.
- Professional. If your professional activity is associated with harmful and hazardous substances or types of work, then it is necessary to exclude the influence of such factors with the onset of pregnancy, and it is better before planning it.
- Ecological. We can influence these factors least of all, well, if only to move to a more favorable area from the point of view of ecology.
The consequences of impaired reproductive health
The fact that the characterization of reproductive health in recent years leaves much to be desired will be confirmed by any doctor. The following examples prove this:
- Most of the population of childbearing age suffer from various infectious and inflammatory diseases.
- The reproductive health of both men and women is sharply deteriorating.
- The number of fruitless marriages is growing every year.
- Infant mortality is not decreasing, but, on the contrary, is increasing.
- A large number of children with genetic diseases are born.
- Oncology is becoming the scourge of our society, and a huge number of patients belong to the younger generation.
- The gene pool of the nation is rapidly depleted.
What other evidence is needed to understand that something needs to be done to strengthen and improve the reproductive health of young people in particular.
Reproductive Health
The concept of protection includes a large number of methods, procedures and services that can support the reproductive health of young families and each individual. In modern conditions, protection problems are of great importance and relevance.
A lot of work is needed to prevent various diseases, especially those that affect the sexual sphere. Education should begin with the family and continue in educational institutions. This should be discussed with the younger generation. A special role should be assigned:
- Prevention of abortion, especially at an early age.
- Prevention of infection by various sexually transmitted infections.
- Consider family planning and childbirth. It is necessary to prepare for this, and the first step may be to visit a genetic consultation, where specialists will help to calculate the likelihood of having children with various pathologies.
Despite the not very favorable ecological situation, human reproductive health is more dependent on himself. It is in your power, no one will do it for you. Remember about your children and future grandchildren, their health also depends on your lifestyle.