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Obstetrician / Gynecology StoriesToday's Featured Doctor |
Infertility Treatment Jeopardize Pregnant Women's Health
Having three or more miscarriages and undergoing hormone treatment for infertility increase pregnant women’s risk for pre-eclampsia, a condition of high blood pressure during pregnancy, a recent investigation shows.
In the study, which was published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, researchers at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health examined data on over 20,000 first-time mothers from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study. Their baseline for normalcy was the pre-eclampsia rate among first-time mothers who had never miscarried nor undergone fertility treatment, which was 5.2 percent. Read more about Infertility Treatment Jeopardize Pregnant Women's Health
Syphilis: From Near Zero to a Big Threat
Just a few years ago, at the beginning of the new century, syphilis was close to being wiped out in the United States.
But today, according to the latest annual report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the ancient sexually transmitted disease is looming as a serious new threat to the health especially of gay and bisexual men. The open sores, rashes and lesions that characterize two stages of the syphilis life cycle are of particular concern because they promote the transmission of HIV, the AIDS virus that's especially prevalent in the alternative-sexuality population.
Read more about Syphilis: From Near Zero to a Big Threat
Young Mothers Suffer More Depression
Females who give birth before age 23 are considerably more likely to experience clinical depression during pregnancy than older mothers, a recent study shows.
In addition, the British researchers report, younger mothers' children more commonly suffer from emotional problems and have a below-average IQ.
These psychological deficits were found to be more likely in cases in which mothers were depressed or smoked during their pregnancies, and in which they failed to breast-feed following childbirth.
Read more about Young Mothers Suffer More Depression
Weight-Loss Surgery Helps Obese Moms' Pregnancies
Women who underwent dramatic weight loss after bariatric surgery had fewer pregnancy and delivery problems and fewer newborn complications than obese pregnant mothers, according to a recent study. The investigation, which analyzed the data from 75 clinical studies, discovered that pregnant women who had undergone weight-loss surgery (laparoscopic adjustable band surgery) experienced fewer complications than obese women. In particular, 0 percent of weight-loss women suffered from gestational diabetes, versus 22.1 percent of obese women, and 0 percent of weight-loss women had pre-eclampsia (pregnancy-induced high blood pressure), versus 3.1 percent of obese women. Also, women with bariatric surgery had less weight gain than the others. Read more about Weight-Loss Surgery Helps Obese Moms' Pregnancies
Pregnancy and LASIK Don't Mix
When a woman is pregnant or breastfeeding, her hormonal balance shifts dramatically. This causes her body to retain more fluid. And when this happens, her eyes' lenses swell, too, making a correct diagnosis to fix her vision problems with LASIK surgery all but impossible. When the lens swells, it changes how a woman sees, making her more nearsighted, farsighted or astigmatic. But when her pregnancy is over, and when she stops lactating, her hormones - and her eyes' lenses - return to normal. If a LASIK diagnosis is performed on a woman during the period when her lenses are distorted, the readings will be invalid for her normal bodily state. Read more about Pregnancy and LASIK Don't Mix
Little-Known Cause of Infertility
A peculiar and destructive condition that afflicts as many as 10 percent of women is the most common cause of female infertility. Women with the disorder, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), usually are overweight, miss or have irregular periods, have a profusion of small cysts (fluid-filled sacs) in their ovaries, have high levels of male hormones (androgens) and suffer from excessive hair growth, especially facial hair. Read more about Little-Known Cause of Infertility
Eating Less Extends Fertility
Eating less and more healthily may be just the ticket for women to add years to their fertile lives - as well as boosting their sex drive and sexual satisfaction, which are part and parcel of fertility. This is true if a study done recently with mice can be extrapolated to humans. In the research, performed by a team led by Kaisa Selesniemi of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, adult female mice were fed less, and it was found that the aging process in their ovaries was slowed. This led to an extension of their fertility by a considerable number of months, which would translate into many years for women. Read more about Eating Less Extends Fertility
Women's Weight Does Not Affect Sexual Activity
Here is one area in which weight may not have a negative effect on a health activity - sex!. In a study published in Obstetrics & Gynecology research showed that overweight women are having more sex than their thinner sisters. Read more about Women's Weight Does Not Affect Sexual Activity
The Benefits of Flu Shots During Pregnancy
Despite the long-standing recommendation for pregnant women to receive a flu shot, three-quarters of women responding to a national survey were unaware or unsure of these recommendations. Additionally, only 20 percent of women who are currently pregnant plan to get a flu shot this flu season. The survey, conducted on behalf of the National Women's Health Resource Center, also revealed that some women even question whether the flu shot itself can pose a health risk to the baby. Read more about The Benefits of Flu Shots During Pregnancy
Natural Fertility Method Superior, Study Says
Whereas in vitro fertilization (IVF) achieves pregnancy success rates in Europe of 18.4 percent, a recent study has found a quarter of couples can do the same using natural procreative (NaPro) technology. NaPro technology was developed by obstetrician and gynecologist Thomas W. Hilgers in Omaha, Neb. Central to the technique is educating women and couples how to precisely monitor and chart female bodily "markers" that indicate fertility and fertility problems. This allows the NaPro technology practitioner to zero in on abnormal menstrual bleeding patterns, poor cervical mucus flow and subtle hormonal deficiencies that are often not detected by routine gynecological evaluation. Once the biological problem is identified, a precisely targeted solution can be undertaken. Read more about Natural Fertility Method Superior, Study Says
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