Is it necessary to check for biliary atresia before pregnancy?

Before preparing to get pregnant, both men and women need to go to the hospital for a physical examination in advance. This way you can check if there are any problems with your body, and secondly, you can make adequate preparations for pregnancy. However, sometimes some pre-pregnancy examinations are too sloppy and many substantial problems cannot be detected, resulting in pregnancy failure. So, is it necessary to check for biliary atresia before pregnancy?

Biliary atresia is a common cause of cholestatic jaundice in infants and young children and is also the most serious hepatobiliary disease leading to liver failure in infancy. If not treated promptly, children often die around 1 year old. There are currently no specific statistical data on the incidence of biliary atresia in mainland China. However, Zhan Jianghua and his colleagues analyzed the medical records of children with biliary atresia at the Municipal Children's Hospital from 2009 to 2014 and found that the rate of visits was 1.39 per 10,000 births. In addition, the reception data from many domestic children's hospitals also show that the detection rate of biliary atresia in children has been increasing year by year in recent years.

The best time to perform surgery for biliary atresia is within 2 months after the child is born. If it is delayed beyond 90 days, due to the severe liver fibrosis of the child, even if the Kasai operation is performed, there is a high possibility that the child will need a liver transplant in the future. The Kasai procedure, also known as the portojejunostomy, is the most important surgical method for treating biliary atresia. Most children can resume normal life after the operation. Although biliary atresia is not a common disease, it will be a heavy blow to a family if a child is diagnosed with it. In fact, it is not difficult to screen for this disease in its early stages.

Breast milk jaundice usually reaches its peak 7-14 days after the baby is born, and will gradually subside after 21 days. However, pathological jaundice in children with biliary atresia will gradually worsen after 21-28 days, eventually turning the baby's whole body yellow and turning him into a "golden baby". In addition, since bile cannot be excreted, the color of the baby's stool will gradually become lighter. Just by comparing the color of the baby's stool, you can detect the baby's abnormality early. Therefore, once parents find that their baby's skin and whites of the eyes are turning yellow, the stool becomes lighter in color or even white clay-like, and the urine becomes brown, they should take the child to see a doctor as soon as possible to avoid delaying the best time for treatment.