Pregnancy and the birth of a child are the most important and long-awaited events for any woman. To ensure that they are not overshadowed by complications, careful preparation is necessary. Proper planning will allow the expectant mother to easily endure pregnancy and give birth to a healthy baby. Various tests, consultations with specialists, examinations - all these are mandatory activities. However, not only the woman carrying a child must undergo them. There are a number of studies required for a future father. Fluorography (FLG) of a husband during his wife’s pregnancy is one of them. Do not be surprised if the gynecologist tells the patient that her husband should bring an X-ray of the lungs.
What is the need for fluorography?
While awaiting the birth of a child, his mother should be in contact only with healthy people. My husband needs a fluorography to refute the fact of infection with tuberculosis, because this contagious infection is common today.
The need for diagnostics is due to the following reasons.
- A pregnant patient cannot undergo FLG (permissible only in extreme cases), therefore, examination of a cohabiting spouse, if his infection with tuberculosis is not confirmed, will indirectly indicate that the wife is healthy.
- The husband plans to be present at the birth or live with his wife and child in a separate room. Without FLG results, entry into the maternity hospital is closed for men.
- The baby’s parents must make sure that they are healthy, because the tuberculosis vaccine is given on the third day of life. Immunity has not yet been formed by that time, so it is necessary that the newborn be surrounded only by healthy people.
- A young mother should not have contact with patients, since she is very weakened by childbirth, and fluorography will exclude infection with tuberculosis.
In some maternity hospitals, a woman in labor and her baby will be discharged only after an X-ray of the lungs and heart. But not every mother agrees to such a diagnosis because she is breastfeeding. She can go through it after finishing breastfeeding.
What is fluorography
Fluorography is a method of x-ray examination, which consists of photographing a visible image on a picture to identify possible pathologies of the lungs and heart:
- inflammatory processes;
- neoplasms;
- structural changes in organ tissue.
Doctors recommend having the test done once a year, including for spouses planning a pregnancy.
Why fluorography of a husband during pregnancy, and is it possible to avoid this examination?
Fluorography is an X-ray examination of the internal organs of the chest area, in the final images of which changes can be detected, such as tumors, disorders of the structure of the lung tissue, and infectious foci. Now the incidence rates of tuberculosis and cancer pathologies have increased significantly. Diagnosis is carried out every year, it is extremely important, since timely identification of the disease can save the patient’s life.
Gynecologists and obstetricians accompanying the patient's pregnancy are responsible for her and her unborn child. Their tasks include preventing possible hazards, including the likelihood of infection with bacterial and viral diseases. The expectant mother will be at greatest risk of becoming infected if someone in her immediate circle is sick. That is why it is important for the husband, as the person with whom the woman comes into contact more often than others, to undergo a comprehensive examination. One of its stages is fluorography.
Some patients refuse FLG, citing the harm of radiation to which they are exposed during the X-ray. However, the child’s health is much more important than such fear, so you should not neglect the procedure. In small doses, ionizing radiation will not cause harm; a large dose of radiation received in one stream or cumulatively poses a danger.
If a woman is healthy, she does not understand why they say that her husband needs fluorography during pregnancy. It’s better to play it safe, since tuberculosis in the early stages is asymptomatic, only over time the following deviations are noted:
- cough;
- changes in the respiratory system;
- low-grade fever;
- weakness;
- sweating;
- other signs.
Now FLG is carried out on the latest devices (usually digital), so the proportion of radiation exposure is reduced to a minimum. The future father need not worry about his health.
When a woman enters a maternity hospital, doctors must make sure that the situation in her environment is safe; this is important for the health of the baby. One of the required documents during registration is an image of the spouse’s lungs, which he must provide before delivery. If the husband's FLG is absent, the woman in labor is considered underexamined and will have to go to the infectious diseases department to exclude an outbreak of nosocomial infection. Then other mothers and their newborn babies would be in danger.
Questions and answers
Natalya date: 01/27/2016
Hello! I am very worried about the current situation and hope for a quick response. In the fall of 2015, I had a consultation with your immunologist regarding the titers that appeared at 1:32.
I was told that the titer is far from an indicator, we focus on Doppler, continue to monitor antibodies, delivery at 38.3 weeks. There is no need to get attached to the maternity hospital, they will provide help in any way.
Now I’m already 39 weeks, I received 2 Miroprost tablets, titer 1:16384, Doppler control, CTG and amniotic fluid, we are still waiting for a natural birth. To be honest, I’m already feeling scared. Or is it nothing that the recommended delivery date has already passed?
Maria date: 01/27/2016
Hello! Tell me, do you have an open day at your maternity hospital (when you can come see the conditions, the delivery room and talk with the doctors)? If yes, then when?
Hello Maria! Unfortunately, open days are not held in our RD.
Tatyana date: 01/27/2016
Hello, tell me, if citizens from outside the Russian Federation (who are on call from the educational process) are brought to your maternity hospital, if you have documents (Passport exchange card (of your country), can a woman count on being accepted (the list indicates the amount of 18,000 rubles) to your maternity home?
Hello Tatiana! You need to contact the administration of RD 17 to receive complete information on this issue.
Tatyana date: 01/26/2016
Hello Tatiana! In this case, you need to have copies of all documents, as well as a certificate confirming the replacement of these documents at the time of hospitalization.
Nina Arkadyevna Kvashnina date: 01/26/2016
Can I get accurate information about the birth of a boy on August 21, 1972 by Nina Arkadyevna Poddubskaya (family house 4 of the Kalininsky district - according to the data received, the archive was transferred to maternity hospital 15 before merging with maternity hospital 11 and creating maternity hospital 17.
Hello, Nina Arkadyevna! For any information, contact the administration of RD 17 at Lesnozavodskaya 4/1.
Olga date: 01/24/2016
Geographically, maternity hospital 17 is the closest to me. I plan to give birth under an agreement with a doctor. Actually, I am interested in two questions: 1. Is there still a possibility that I may not be accepted? Even taking into account the conclusion of the doctor from Botkino. 2.
Is Gepotect immunoglobulin available? If not, is it possible to order it through RD? Thanks a lot
Hello Olga! If you have this certificate from the hospital named after. I.P. Botkin, if you have a contract, you should be accepted. Immunoglobulin supplies vary. At the moment, it is impossible to say unequivocally that this particular brand will be available during your birth. Personal order through RD, unfortunately, is not possible.
Irina date: 01/24/2016
Hello Irina! This agreement includes the management of your birth by an individual obstetrician-gynecologist of your choice. The contract is concluded at a gestational age of 28-36 weeks. Payment is made on the day the contract is concluded. According to the legal component, you will be admitted to the maternity hospital under any circumstances.
Irina date: 01/24/2016
Hello! Tell me, how many rooms do you have for individual childbirth (a single room where the birth itself takes place) and what is the likelihood that if I plan to give birth for free, my spouse may be present with me? If not, at what stages of labor is it likely to be present?
Hello Irina! There are only 4 individual delivery rooms. If they are free during your birth, and we have the opportunity to carry out your birth in one of these delivery rooms, then if your husband has FLG data no more than 6 months old at the time of birth, he will have the opportunity be present with you at the birth.
Nelly date: 01/23/2016
(1) Will there still be an opportunity at this time to negotiate with the doctor and conclude an agreement? (2) If the doctor is already busy, will he offer me another one? (3) Will they also make an appointment with someone else only 3 weeks in advance, and then there will be no chance of concluding an agreement with anyone? Thank you.
Hello Nellie! If you are 31 weeks pregnant, you have an ABSOLUTELY real chance to conclude an agreement with the doctor of your choice.
Alexandra date: 01/22/2016
Hello! Please tell me I will give birth under normal conditions, you write that visiting women in labor is possible for those who are in certain wards! After giving birth, will I be able to see my husband and how are the necessary things left behind transferred and stored, including those in which ones will I come??? Do you have internet??? And how many people are accommodated in the room?? Thanks in advance.
Hello, Alexandra! There are no visits to general wards after childbirth. Items can be submitted through the help desk. The maternity hospital has Internet access. Postpartum wards for 3-5 beds.
Is it only the husband who needs to be examined?
By the time pregnancy occurs, the life of the expectant mother does not change much. Her social circle remains the same, she still visits public places and goes to work. It is impossible to protect yourself from all infections, but paying attention to your health, as well as the health of your baby, is a prerequisite. Based on this, it is easy to assume that FLG may be needed not only by the father, but also by other persons, namely:
- for the expectant mother - the doctor will prescribe an examination if the pregnant woman has been in contact with sick people or complains of a prolonged cough of unknown origin;
- close relatives who live with the patient plan to attend the birth, visit the woman in labor in the maternity hospital or at home. These could be grandparents, uncles, aunts, family friends. Older minor brothers and sisters do not need to undergo FLG; a certificate of their health will be issued by the local pediatrician.
If the husband refuses to do fluorography
A woman expecting a child must follow all the recommendations of the specialist managing the pregnancy. The future father should also not stand aside, because he is responsible for the health of his wife and their baby.
Men often do not understand why they need to undergo FLG during their wife’s pregnancy, especially if they are not planning a joint birth. Refusal to undergo an examination is an unreasonable and irresponsible action that can cause the following consequences:
- a woman in labor will be denied hospitalization upon admission to the maternity hospital;
- The pregnant woman will be given a referral to the infectious diseases department.
Of course, a woman will not be left without help on the street, but in the infectious diseases department the risk of contracting any infection is too high.
If the future father is still categorical and does not intend to undergo examination, he must provide a written refusal. The application must contain an explanation of the reasons why the man did not undergo the mandatory examination, and the fact of accepting responsibility for the possible consequences of such a decision. But it’s better to think about them so as not to endanger the life of your child, so a pregnant woman’s husband should still undergo fluorography.
