Have you decided to expand your family?

Take Folic Acid Supplements

When you are pregnant or may become pregnant, it is recommended that you take a daily folic acid supplement.

You should take a 400 microgram folic acid supplement every day before you become pregnant and until the 12th week of your pregnancy.

Folic acid reduces the risk of your baby having a neural tube defect such as spina bifida.

A neural tube defect is a condition in which the fetus's spinal cord (part of the body's nervous system) does not form normally.

In the following situations, you may be advised to take a higher dose of folic acid, such as 5 milligrams (5mg) daily:

If you or your baby's other biological parent has a neural tube defect

If you have previously had a pregnancy affected by a neural tube defect

If there is a family history of neural tube defects

If you have diabetes

Quit Smoking

Smoking during pregnancy is associated with the following health problems:

Premature birth

Low birth weight

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), also known as cot death

Miscarriage

Quitting smoking can be difficult, but support is available.

Other people's cigarette smoke can also harm your baby. So ask your partner, friends and family not to smoke around you.

Avoid Alcohol

Do not drink alcohol if you are pregnant or trying to become pregnant. Alcohol can pass to your unborn baby.

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause long-term health problems for your baby. The more alcohol you drink, the higher the risk.

Learn more about alcohol in pregnancy.

Maintain a Healthy Weight

If you are overweight, you may have difficulty becoming pregnant, and fertility treatments may be less effective.

Being overweight (BMI above 25) or obese (BMI above 30) increases the risk of certain pregnancy problems such as high blood pressure, deep vein thrombosis, miscarriage and gestational diabetes.

You can calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI) before becoming pregnant. However, this calculation may not be accurate during pregnancy, so consult your midwife or doctor.

A healthy diet and moderate exercise are recommended during pregnancy. It is important to avoid gaining too much weight.

You can maintain your healthy weight with a balanced diet and regular exercise.

Know Which Medicines You Can Take

Not every medicine is safe during pregnancy or when planning a pregnancy – whether prescription or over-the-counter.

If you take prescription medication and plan to become pregnant, be sure to talk to a doctor.

Do not stop your medication without consulting your doctor.

Vaccinations and Infections

Some infections, such as rubella (German measles), can harm your baby if contracted during pregnancy.

Many people are immune to rubella thanks to the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

If you have not had 2 doses of the MMR vaccine or are not sure, ask your family doctor to check your vaccination history.

If you have not had both doses or have no record, you can get vaccinated by your family doctor.

You should not become pregnant for 1 month after receiving the MMR vaccine. Therefore, you need to use a reliable method of contraception.

For more detailed information about vaccination during pregnancy, click here.

If You Have a Chronic Condition, Talk to Your Doctor

If you have a chronic condition such as epilepsy or diabetes, the decisions you make during your pregnancy may be affected – for example, where you want to give birth.

Discuss this with your specialist before becoming pregnant.

If you take medication for a condition, do not stop it without consulting your doctor.

Have you decided to expand your family?

Carrier screening tests are another factor that helps couples make informed reproductive decisions. Prospective parents, as well as pregnant individuals, can find out whether they are carriers of a genetic disease with the GeneScreen Carrier Test. This lays the groundwork for more informed reproductive decisions.

Carrier screening is a simple blood test performed to determine whether a person is a carrier of autosomal recessive or X-linked genetic diseases.

Carrier screening can be done at any time, before or during pregnancy. People may want to know their carrier status when planning a pregnancy, before having children.

Being a carrier means having a change in only one of the two copies of a gene associated with a genetic disease. If both parents are carriers of the same disease, in every pregnancy the child has a 1 in 4 (25%) chance of being affected. If a woman is a carrier of an X-linked disease, in every pregnancy she has a 1 in 2 or 50% chance of passing the mutation associated with this disease to her child. If the child is male and inherits the mutation, he will be affected.

GeneScreen Why are Carrier Screening Tests important?

In 80% of couples who have children with genetic recessive disorders, the parents have no symptoms.

1 in 550 pregnancies is affected by one of the diseases on the GeneScreen panel.

Many studies have shown that approximately 1 in 4 people is a carrier of at least 1 gene mutation, and 1 in 20 people is a carrier of more than one gene mutation; 88% had no prior family history, and 1 in 240 were high-risk carrier couples at risk of having a child with a gene mutation.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommended expanded carrier screening as an appropriate screening strategy, and in order to benefit more patients, routinely offering expanded carrier screening to all patients regardless of family history or ethnicity was accepted as the only screening approach that is consistent and appropriate for all patients.

With the GeneScreen Test, offered with Eurofins quality, you can find out whether you are a carrier and take informed steps for the future. A negative result reduces the risk but does not eliminate it; the panel does not cover all diseases. Genetic counseling before and after the test is recommended. Sickle cell anemia, thalassemia, SMA and cystic fibrosis are some examples of the diseases screened; for more detailed lists, click here.

WE ARE WITH YOU THROUGH YOUR PREGNANCY - FROM PREGNANCY TO BIRTH

At Wellcare Laboratories, from before you plan a pregnancy and from the very first day of pregnancy until birth, we stand by you and your family with our expert team, high service quality and advanced technology, delivering reliable results. With the tests offered with Wellcare Laboratories quality, you can take informed steps for the future. You can take a look at the pre-pregnancy screening package offered by our laboratory. These tests provide evaluations on different matters such as anemia, thyroid, past infections and blood group.

We are here to provide you with comprehensive screening and to help you make informed reproductive decisions.

START PREPARING FOR YOUR FUTURE

Routine carrier screening for every couple planning to have children, regardless of family history, allows you to find out whether you are a carrier of recessive and X-linked single-gene diseases and can guide you in planning your future with solid steps. If a chromosomal abnormality is suspected, a karyotype analysis is needed.

The GeneScreen test provides information about the risk of passing on serious genetic diseases of which you may be a carrier to your baby, and lays the groundwork for informed reproductive decisions with firmer steps.

10th Week of Your Pregnancy: NIPT; A Step Forward!

Mothers begin planning their children's future from the very beginning of pregnancy, and the first step in planning is health.

So, if you have reached the 10th week of your pregnancy, it is time to take action for your baby's health. Now is the time to leave your worries behind! Genetic follow-up is important in pregnancy. With NIPT  (Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing), a genetic test that is performed quite easily, you can have your baby's chromosomal abnormalities detected. 

A peaceful pregnancy is possible with reliable, fast and practical NIPT.

In the NIPT test, a tube of blood sample taken from the expectant mother is used to investigate possible abnormalities in the structure of the baby's DNA circulating in the blood. NIPT, used essentially to detect aneuploidies such as trisomy 13, 18 and 21, is, with the Eurofins difference, a test that can also examine autosomal abnormalities and rare chromosomal disorders such as all deletions and duplications above 7 Mb. NIPT is also the most successful screening test that can be performed in twin pregnancies. Expectant mothers who conceived through IVF can also have the NIPT test with confidence and go through their pregnancy peacefully. Especially in pregnancies at advanced maternal age, they also avoid unnecessary invasive procedures with NIPT.

A negative result indicates that the risk of the fetus being affected by one of the investigated abnormalities is very low. In this case, your doctor will tell you whether other tests need to be performed. After a negative test result, the pregnancy continues to be monitored throughout the process.

Positive result: Indicates a strong suspicion that the fetus is affected by one of the investigated abnormalities. In this case, your doctor will inform you about the additional tests that need to be performed to confirm the diagnosis.

In line with the recommendations of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM), with international experience and the reference of specialist physicians, we enable you to take the right steps for your baby's health with the Eurofins NIPT Test.

The best investment you can make for the future while preparing for birth and your baby may be to have cord blood and cord tissue stored with ONKIM. This is the ONLY chance, available only at the moment of birth.

Cord blood is the blood that remains in the umbilical cord on the placenta side after the baby is born, and it is very rich in stem cells. After the baby is born, the umbilical cord is cut and the baby is separated from the mother. A special collection bag filled with a protective fluid that prevents blood clotting is attached to the umbilical cord, and the cord blood fills it by gravity. The umbilical cord is a structure that is discarded together with the placenta right after birth, nourishes the child throughout pregnancy and provides all communication between mother and child. Studies in recent years have proven that umbilical cord tissue is very rich in mesenchymal stem cells.

Stem cells in the umbilical cord can be used in conditions such as graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). Stem cells in the umbilical cord can be used in the treatment of diseases resulting from damage to tissues and organs developed from mesenchymal cells, such as bone, cartilage, adipose tissue, nerve and connective tissue. The use of umbilical cord tissue stem cells in GvHD and tissue damage is still at the research stage. In addition, it is thought that they may be used in the treatment of cerebral palsy, autism, hearing loss in children, type 1 diabetes, nervous system damage such as Parkinson's disease, autoimmune diseases such as MS (multiple sclerosis) and rheumatoid arthritis, and hereditary bone diseases such as osteogenesis imperfecta, and many approved clinical studies are being conducted in Turkey and abroad to investigate this. These uses are still at the research stage and are not proven treatments.

CONNECT TO THE FUTURE WITH CONFIDENCE THROUGH CORD BLOOD.