In medicine, diseases that are manifested at birth are generally called congenital diseases. Buthaving a congenital disease does not mean you have a genetic disease. A significant number of congenital diseases diagnosed at birth are not genetic. In other words, congenital diseases are not caused by changes in genetic material, but are caused by certain environmental factors and changes in maternal conditions during embryonic development, such as large-dose X-ray irradiation, hypoxia, viral infection, The application of certain drugs and other teratogenic factors affect the development of the fetus. As soon as such a baby is born, people can clearly detect his abnormality, but this is a congenital disease, not a genetic disease. If a mother is infected with rubella virus in early pregnancy and affects her fetus, causing the baby to suffer from congenital heart disease or cataracts after birth, this disease will not be passed on to future generations, so it cannot be considered a genetic disease.
AndMost babies with genetic disorders already show symptoms or signs at birth. For example: Down syndrome, polydactyly, etc. However, this genetic disease does not cause symptoms when the fetus is born. For example, muscular dystrophy does not develop until childhood, and hereditary cerebellar dyskinesia usually develops around the age of 35. Although these diseases do not develop until some time after birth, they are genetic diseases. Therefore, determining whether a genetic disease is a genetic disease cannot only be determined based on whether the disease was present at birth, but must be determined based on the person\’s symptoms, laboratory tests, and family tree analysis.
Whether it is a genetic disease or a congenital disease, the result is birth defects, some deformities, some diseases, some dementia, etc., which all affect the improvement of the quality of the population and bring economic benefits to the family and society. Burden and mental stress can also make patients suffer throughout their lives. Therefore, young couples who are preparing to have children should pay attention to preventing the occurrence of genetic diseases and congenital diseases before, during and during pregnancy, so as to improve the quality of the next generation, reduce the burden on the family and society, and make life more happy and satisfying. happiness.
This article is provided by Baidu Reading and is excerpted from \”Three Months Before Pregnancy – Pregnancy Preparation Period\” Author: Wang Liru