When I dreamed of forging into womanhood as a child, my ideals invariably encompassed three primary events: Fall in love. Get married. Have children. Immediately after the birth of my son in 1995, I quickly learned that parenthood was about more than baby showers, tiny layettes, charming little baby clothes, a few sleepless nights, and proud morning strolls around the neighborhood with a perfect little baby in tow.
My husband John and I had been married about 4 months when we were mugged at gunpoint. I was shot in the eye and eventually had retinal reattachment surgery to prevent permanent blindness. My vision would always be poor in my left eye, but we were grateful to be alive. It took 2 years for the eye to be fully healed and we were given permission to start a family.
My husband Bryan and I have been married 10 years. We tried for the first 3 years of our marriage to get pregnant to no avail. Three months after we were married we found out that I had pre-cervical cancer and had laser surgery to get rid of the bad cells.
The end of my pregnancy with Nicole was, in a word, swollen. My last few prenatal check-ups were spent discussing the size of the baby, my high blood pressure and swelling.
My story to share is a long one of loss, hope and success. I will never forget when my husband and I finally made the decision to start our family. We had so many dreams and mapped out a plan for our lives.
I remember taking a pregnancy test for my third child. I was so excited…I just knew we had timed things right. AND I wanted an April baby SO bad I could just spit.
I write this with my daughter, Hunter, sleeping peacefully on my lap. As I look down on her, I am filled with a sense of awe, and of gratitude, for her journey to us was long. Here is her story......
From the time I was 14, I had horrible cramping with my periods. I would get sick each month and end up spending a week out of every month in bed. This just became "routine" for me and continued on throughout my teen years.
The card I gave my husband, Brent, last January said, “Thank you so much for my wonderful birthday gift. I can’t wait to open it on or around September 25th.” His puzzled look told me I’d have to explain. “I’m pregnant,” I said.
On Christmas Eve 1997, my maternal grandmother, Nana, asked me if I was going to have any more children. (I didn't know then that she also had the same chat with my husband, Dean.) I should have known, based on previous experience, that this was a premonition of things to come.
I found out in September of 1997 that I was expecting. We were quite surprised as this was our first month trying. I found out that I was due May 20,1998. I had an extremely easy pregnancy. I had just a bit of nausea in my second month, but that left as quickly as it came.
I'm pregnant. Big deal? It is for me. I've had one live birth and four losses. We've also done the full arsenal of infertility treatments. This is pregnancy number six and "she" is the result of IVF/ICSI. As happy as we are, all good news is received cautiously.
I think the problem was mainly put on the physicians because it was perceived that in the private sector the cesarean sections were done for monetary reasons. Currently, the issue is becoming a broader one because the women themselves want a cesarean section on request.
Every woman giving birth is embarking on a wondrous journey. Fortunately, it's a journey that countless women before them have taken so the territory is not entirely uncharted. In preparation for labor, thousands of women participate in childbirth education classes every year in the United States.
Objective To examine the effect of relaxation on preterm labor outcome. Design Quasi-experimental, with women who experienced preterm labor randomly assigned to a control or experimental group.
One of the most controversial topics in modern obstetrics is cesarean section. Cesarean section refers to a major surgical procedure where a baby is removed from the uterus by making a cut into the abdomen, then into the uterus.
For most of us the impending prospect of labor and delivery is both exciting and frightening. It is easy to get caught up in a cycle of worry about every aspect of the process, including fears about the baby.
The things you do for yourself and your baby during your pregnancy are very important. Preparing for labor is one of the most essential. Below is a list of some of the many things you may want to consider as you plan for your labor and delivery.
If I had to pick the one question that every woman asks as she prepares for her birth, it would be a fairly easy choice: How will I know when I’m in labor?
For the mother's use during labor, For the birth partner's use, For the mother's use during the postpartum period, and For the baby.
Cord blood stem cells (CBSCs) first appear in the yolk sac of the human embryo, and then migrate to the liver as the fetus develops. The fetal liver continues to produce blood cells until shortly after birth, when the bone marrow becomes the primary factory of blood.
The VizAblate System is a device that is inserted through the cervix into the endometrial cavity, and uses radiofrequency energy to ablate individual fibroids while seeing what he or she is doing with intrauterine sonography.
What do you do when a patient has a recurrent yeast infection? This conundrum recently became a discussion on the OBGYN.net forum.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists released a new committee opinion urging clinicians to treat all patients presenting with vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN). The opinion is a result of an increasing incidence of VIN, particularly among US women in their 40s. The full opinion was published in the November issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Over the years, researchers and clinicians have made great strides in reducing the number of maternal deaths associated with cardiac disease, infection, and hemorrhage.
A healthy placenta is the single most important factor in producing a healthy baby. The placenta, which is in fact part of the fetus, is critical for all aspects of pregnancy from implantation to delivery. As early as three days after fertilization, the trophoblasts, the major cell type of the placenta, begin to make human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone which insures that the endometrium will be receptive to the implanting embryo.
Diagnostics in the OB/GYN Setting
Whenever I think about women's health delivery I am struck with apparent confusion of roles that currently exists among the various providers. To understand this problem a review of the dramatic events in women's health in the 20th century is necessary.
A substance found in the urine of pregnant women can be measured to predict the later development of preeclampsia, according to research from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health.
