KOTA KINABALU: Women will encounter more complications if they decide to have children later.
However more women are deciding to have children later and not earlier in life, particularly in more developed nations, said Dr Vijayan V., Women and Children Hospital Maternal Fetal Medicine Unit head at the second Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynaecology workshop in his paper entitled, ‘Role of Ultrasound in Pregnancy.’
He added that with age, it would become more difficult for women to have children.
He also said older women had an increased risk of developing health conditions such as hypertension.
“But because of age, women who do decide to become pregnant later in life also want to get it right when they get children,” he said.
“Ultrasound has an important role to play in determining a healthy pregnancy. Among others, ultrasound helps health professionals to diagnose fetal defects and help future parents to be better prepared,” he said.
The role of ultrasound includes detecting pregnancy complications, predict pre-term labour, predict aneuploidy, detecting malformation through detailed structural scan, detect fetal growth problems and follow-up of high risk pregnancy.
He also said so far, there have been no reports of ultrasound causing harm to the fetus.
Medicine and Health Sciences faculty dean Professor Dr D. Kamarudin Mudin said at the launch of the second Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynaecology workshop that ultrasound scan was now a must-know area in Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
“The technology is very important for all house officers, medical officers and also general practitioners,” he said in his speech read by the deputy dean of clinical services, Professor Dr Zainal Arifin Mustafa.
“To fulfil this goal, Reproductive Health Department of Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
and Obstetrics is going to conduct this ultrasound workshop every year. More hands-on sessions have been requested by participants who attended the workshop,” he said.