About 20 percent of women aged between 25 and 34 are overweight or obese, and the number rises to nearly 30 percent for women aged 35 to 39, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said, adding that pregnant women who are overweight have a higher risk of having babies significantly larger than average.
If a woman’s weight is below the advised level during pregnancy, the risk of the baby suffering malnutrition increases 53 percent and that of a preterm birth by 70 percent.
If the woman’s weight is above the level, it increases the risk of fetal macrosomia by 85 percent, research published in JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association showed.
An additional 5kg to 9kg of weight is ideal for women with a pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) of more than 30, the HPA said.
An additional 11.5kg to 16kg is recommended for women with a pre-pregnancy BMI of between 18.5 and 24.9, while an additional 12.5kg to 18kg is recommended for women with a pre-pregnancy BMI lower than 18.5, the HPA said
Losing weight is not recommended during pregnancy, it said.
Pregnant women should take advantage of their 10 free prenatal tests, as well as government-run care services, to better manage their health and weight, it added.
In related news, the HPA said that Taiwanese women are having their first child at an average age of 30.9 years, two years older than a decade ago.
The number of women giving birth aged 35 or over has increased 2.5 times compared with a decade ago, it said.
It said 35 is considered advanced maternal age and the risks of stillbirth, premature birth, miscarriage, infertility, hypertension and gestational diabetes increase significantly, the HPA said.
As a mother’s age increases, the likelihood that the child might be born with a low weight, have abnormal chromosomes or other congenital defects also increases, it said.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the risk of a woman giving birth to a child with Down syndrome increases with the mother’s age, the HPA said.
The risk of a woman aged 35 to 39 giving birth to a child with Down syndrome is increased by 4.3 times, the HPA said, while for a woman aged 40 or above the risk is increased 13.6 times.
The risks are the same for other chromosomal abnormalities, such as Patau syndrome or Edwards syndrome, it said, calling for women of advanced maternal age to undergo prenatal genetic diagnosis.
Women aged 34 and above, those who can prove they have given birth to a child with chromosomal abnormalities, those whose child is at risk of hereditary disease or those who have a condition that could cause the child to have a congenital defect are eligible to apply to the HPA for genetic diagnosis test subsidies, it said.
Pregnant women should undergo amniocentesis at a hospital and fill out an application form to be entitled to NT$5,000 in subsidies which would be deducted from hospital expenses not covered by the National Health Insurance program.
Women aged 34 years and above comprised 62.4 percent of all applicants of such subsidies in 2018, with 3 percent of fetuses diagnosed with having an abnormality, the HPA said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is
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