Pre-marital medical check-up is important. When Liu Lu got married last winter, she and her husband spent 4,000 yuan ($506) on wedding photos alone but decided to skip pre-marital medical check-ups, which cost about 100 yuan ($12.70). "I was confident we were healthy enough to get married," the 29-year-old secretary said. "And the check-ups imply you don't trust your 'other half'." Since a State Council regulation came into force on October 1, 2003, mandatory pre-marital physical check-ups which started in 1992 became voluntary. And Liu is one of millions who have decided to opt out. Ministry of Health statistics reveal only 2.67 percent of couples went for the check-ups in 2004, while it was 68 percent in 2002. But since then, the rate of birth defects has surged in many regions, a matter of great concern for Chi Baorong, professor at Jilin University's medical college and a veteran CPPCC member. Over the past three years, she has raised proposals to encourage pre-marital medical checks. "The health check is the first line of defense for a couple's happiness," she said. Chen Shouyi, leader of the Zhejiang unit of the China Association for Promoting Democracy, wants to go one step further and reinstate compulsory check-ups. He cited Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang Province as an example. The city's rate of birth defects was 23.1 per thousand last year, an increase of nearly 4 per thousand over the previous three years' average. Ren Yuling, a consultant to the State Council, listed measures taken by some cities to encourage young couples to go for tests before tying the knot; and suggested these practises be promoted widely. Shanghai, for example, provides free check-ups and even unmarried couples enjoy free consultation. Zhu Zonghan, former director of the Beijing Public Health Bureau and a senior paediatrician, lauded the measures. "Many birth defects actually can be avoided if women use supplements of folic acid during pregnancy," he noted. "If in pre-marital medicals they learn this, it would be very helpful for them to have a healthy baby." Chi agrees. She thinks it is not important whether the test is compulsory; instead, awareness about the importance of check-ups is key, she said. 點擊查看更多雙語新聞 (China Daily)

去年冬天結婚的劉璐夫婦僅拍結婚照就花了4000元，但他們卻沒做僅需要花費100元左右的婚前醫學檢查。 這位29歲的女秘書說：“我很自信，我們倆都很健康。做婚檢是一種不信任對方的表現。” 自2003年10月1日國務院出臺的一項新條例實施后，從1992年開始實行的強制婚檢制度即被取消，轉變為自愿婚檢。劉璐只是逃避婚檢的數百萬人中的一例。 據衛生部統計，2004年的婚檢率僅有2.67%，遠遠低于2002年的68%。 但新規定實施以來，很多地區的新生兒出生缺陷率大大增長，老政協委員、吉林大學醫學院的遲寶榮教授對此深感擔憂。 在過去三年中，每年兩會她都提交有關鼓勵婚前檢查的議案。 她說：“婚前健康檢查是保障夫妻幸福生活的第一道防線。” 民進浙江省委會領導陳守義建議，在婚檢的問題上應更進一步，恢復強制婚檢。 他以浙江省寧波市為例做了說明。寧波市去年的新生兒出生缺陷率為23.1‰，比此前三年的平均水平高出近4‰。 國務院顧問任玉嶺列舉了一些城市為鼓勵年輕夫婦進行婚檢所采取的一些措施，他建議這些做法應該在全國范圍內推行。 比如，上海為新婚夫婦提供免費婚檢；未婚情侶甚至也可享受免費咨詢服務。 前北京衛生局局長、資深兒科醫師朱宗涵對這些措施表示贊同。 他說：“如果婦女在懷孕期間攝入足夠的葉酸輔助品，很多出生缺陷完全可以避免。新婚夫婦如果在婚前檢查時了解了這一知識，將對他們生下健康寶寶很有幫助。” 遲寶榮教授對這一觀點表示同意。她認為，是否實行強制婚檢并不重要，認識到婚檢的重要性才是關鍵。 （ 英語點津姍姍編輯）