Trusted Information for Healthy Pregnancies
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List of hospitals offering Healthy Baby Bounty Bags
Jan 15th
About 200 hospitals are now offering Healthy Baby Bounty Bags to new moms when they leave the hospital. These bags contain products, information, and coupons that support only breastfeeding. To find out if your local hospital is participating, look to see if their name is here, or give them a call.
Premenstrual Syndromes: What is the Optimal Duration of Treatment?
Dec 21st
Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) affect a large number of women of childbearing age. 30-80% of reproductive age women experience premenstrual symptoms. PMS refers to a pattern of physical, emotional, and behavioral symptoms occurring 1-2 weeks before menses and remitting with the onset of menses. Common symptoms include fatigue, poor concentration, mild [...]
Use of the Emsam Patch (Selegiline) in Pregnancy
Dec 14th
A clinician asks: “Is there any data on the use of the Emsam patch in pregnancy?”
There is very little information on the reproductive safety of the MAOI-B inhibitor, selegiline, which is the active ingredient of the Emsam patch. While animal studies have failed to reveal any evidence of teratogenicity, the medical literature includes [...]
Panic Disorder Increases the Risk of Adverse Birth Outcomes
Dec 8th
Anxiety often results in the activation of the sympathetic nervous system. This activation is commonly known as the “fight or flight response”; symptoms may include increased heart rate, shortness of breath, perspiration, chest pain, and nausea or diarrhea. Activation of the fight or flight response is also associated with the activation of numerous other responses [...]
Clinical Question: Topamax and Seroquel in a Woman with Bipolar Disorder Planning to Breastfeed
Dec 1st
A clinician asks: “I am a psychiatrist treating a patient with Bipolar Disorder on Seroquel and Topamax. I would like to know what information is available regarding the safety of these medications to the infant if used during breastfeeding.”
With regard to topiramate (Topamax), there is relatively little information on breastfeeding. One case series included five [...]
Why Women Who Have Had Preeclampsia Should Be Evaluated For Hypothyroidism.
Nov 25th
This blog post was also published on preeclampsiaonline.net by Chukwuma Onyeije, M.D.
At present, the cause of preeclampsia is unknown. However, it is clear that patients who have had preeclampsia are at risk for other cardiovascular conditions in later life. Recently published studies now show that in addition to these concerns; patients who have had preeclampsia are also at risk for hypothyroidism later in life.
This presentation reviews why this is an important consideration for the long term health of these patients.
View more presentations from Chukwuma Onyeije.
The Truth About Bioidentical Hormones
Nov 23rd
In increasing numbers, women who are candidates for hormonal replacement therapy are requesting “bioidentical” rather than synthetic hormones. Although there is a tendency to think of bioidentical hormones as “all-natural”, they, like synthetic hormones, are manufactured in the laboratory. In contrast to synthetic hormones, they are chemically identical to the hormones produced by the human [...]
Woman to Broadcast Child’s Birth Live
Nov 5th
For many people, it's one of life's most intimate moments. But for a 23-year-old Minnesota teacher, the birth of her first child will be an event open to anyone in the world.
For the past few months, Lynsee (who asked to keep her last name private) has been sharing daily details about her pregnancy on the social network MomsLikeMe. When she gives birth in the next few days, more than a thousand women who follow her online -- plus anyone else with an Internet connection -- will be able to watch a live broadcast of her child's birth from their computes.
"We wanted to share this experience," Lynsee said about the decision she made with her husband Anders. "If I were in a classroom, I'd be teaching about development. It was a way for me to teach… A way for me to use myself as a textbook."
The day Lynsee found out she was pregnant, she joined the MomsLikeMe site for the Twin Cities area. She and her husband had just moved to Minneapolis-St. Paul and, not knowing many people, she found the Web site to be a good way to meet other women and learn about local resources.
Soon after joining, she answered a message from the site's manager asking pregnant women in the area to contact her. And before she knew it, Lynsee wasn't just a member of the online mothers' network, she was a contributor.
After talking it over with her husband, the young woman agreed to share every last detail of her pregnancy through a daily blog, and then finish off the project with a live Internet broadcast of the delivery.
How did her husband feel? "He was a little hesitant at first, as was I," Lynsee said. But after MomsLikeMe assured them that the video would be shot tastefully, the parents-to-be embraced the idea.
"I shared pretty much anything -- it's pretty much a tell-all blog," Lynsee said about her online postings.
When she gives birth, a cameraman will be in the hospital room with Lynsee, her husband, her mother and her midwife. A second camera will be mounted in the corner. Lynsee said there will not be any graphic shots taken from over the midwife's shoulder.
In addition to the live broadcast, anyone registered with her group on MomsLikeMe will be able to chat with Lynsee while she's in the delivery room.
"I hope to give women a sense of empowerment and joy because it's a very miraculous everyday event," she said. "We're just sharing the story from the empowerment and emotional aspects."
Since making the decision to broadcast the birth, Lynsee said she has not had any second thoughts, and said her family has been 100 percent supportive.
But some mommy bloggers said they were surprised to see someone use new technology to reveal so much.
Would you consider broadcasting your birth live? Would you consider watching another person's birth live?
Source
Paroxetine (Paxil) May Affect Sperm Quality
Oct 1st
Within the field of psychiatry, there is a growing body of literature studying the use of antidepressants in women in the context of pregnancy and the postpartum period. However, much less attention has focused on the impact of these drugs on fertility, particularly in men. Because major depressive disorders affect about one in 10 American [...]
Pregabalin (Lyrica) for the Treatment of Hot Flashes
Sep 21st
Although estrogen is highly effective for the treatment of hot flushes, many women are reluctant to use hormone therapy to manage these symptoms, given recent concerns that estrogen may carry certain risks. Several studies have demonstrated that gabapentin (Neurontin) and certain antidepressants, including paroxetine (Paxil) and venlafaxine (Effexor), may be useful non-hormonal treatments for the [...]