Prevención de defectos congénitos en atención primaria de salud

Abstract

Introduction: Various theories were reviewed on congenital defects and how to prevent them, which develop morphological, functional or molecular alterations, present at birth, which can manifest themselves sometime after birth, causing miscarriages, prenatal deaths, with negative consequences for individuals and families. Objective: A prevention strategy was designed from a pre-conception, prenatal and perinatal point of view in primary health care, to improve the quality of life of newborns with congenital defects, through an analysis within Ecuadorian territory. Methodology: A prospective, longitudinal and descriptive study was carried out by reviewing articles in scientific databases Scopus, Scielo, Mediciencias-UTA, New England Journal, PubMed, with important data on the most frequent risk factors associated with congenital defects in Ecuador, implementing prevention strategies. Results: The basic topics in primary prevention of congenital defects have been prioritised, such as nutrition, age-related risk, genetic risk, immunity and lifestyle habits. The most prevalent chronic diseases in pregnant women and their repercussions on the foetus due to their high frequency in healthcare practice were also reviewed. Conclusions: The strategy designed was based on recognising the most frequent risk factors that cause children to be born with congenital defects, establishing their association with maternal and environmental risk factors, and designing new prevention strategies so that health personnel can provide information to the population at risk in order to prevent the development of these pathologies in the long term.