You made it! The second trimester is usually the best.  For most women, the nausea eventually subsides, your energy level returns (a little at least), and you are not yet so big as to inhibit most of your normal day to day activities. In addition, that first trimester miscarriage anxiety is decreasing a little because you know your risk of pregnancy loss is now 1% or less. For most of you, visits with Kamm Mckenzie are usually only monthly. Excitement builds as you look forward to your anatomy sonogram.  At some point you will start to feel the baby move. Then, most of you get to close out your 2nd trimester and begin your third with the wonderful, sweet, mouth puckering, orange or lemon lime flavored gestational diabetes beverage...yummy! If you read my last blog, I dove into what warrants an emergency call during the first trimester, and what can wait until the office is open again. I am going to try to address some of the more common second trimester emergencies and comment on things that ...

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Early pregnancy is a particularly anxiety provoking time in one’s life.  For one, your life changes with the positive pregnancy test. You start imagining life with this child. You mentally decorate the nursery and fill the closet with the cutest baby clothes.  You budget schools and weddings etc. All this just based on a urine pregnancy test! We all do it (and we all take at least 3 pregnancy tests… admit it!!). Early pregnancy is also nerve-racking because for many families this was not an easy point to get to (at least 15% of women have some fertility difficulty), or you have had a miscarriage (or several) in the past.  And lastly, there is the lack of control that we all have over what goes on in early pregnancy. These pregnancies advance or they don’t for a variety of reasons outside of any person’s control… and in today’s society, we all want immediate gratifying control of everything. Read Dr. Bernstein's advice on when to call the emergency room and when to wait.

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After the hustle and bustle of the holidays, January is a time many turn their focus to self-care. Exercise, mindfulness, and healthier diets are often part of the New Year’s intentions.  A skin care routine while you're pregnant can, too, be an important part of your self-care ritual. Here, we’ll run through some do’s and don’ts of winter skin care in pregnancy.

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Every once in a while at the office we are asked by our pregnant patients if “vaginal seeding” is offered or not to our patients who have a C-section.  If this term is new to you, the American College of OBGYN (ACOG) Committee Opinion on vaginal seeding defines it as “the practice of inoculating cotton gauze or a cotton swab with vaginal fluids to transfer the vaginal flora to the mouth, nose, or skin of a newborn infant. The intended purpose of vaginal seeding is to transfer maternal vaginal bacteria to the newborn.”

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Whenever possible, we support a vaginal birth as long as it is a viable, healthy option for both mother and baby. However, in some cases, a C-section may be necessary. Sometimes recovery may feature unexpected elements, so we wanted to offer these 5 tips for recovering after your procedure.

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Perhaps you have a friend who swore to you that she got pregnant by having sex in the missionary position and then holding her legs up in the air for 20 minutes. She probably meant well, but that’s not proven advice. Continue reading as we explore common misconceptions about getting pregnant, such as "you need to have an orgasm during sex," and debunk them.

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Any obstetrician, nurse, medical assistant, tech, anesthesiologist, etc who spends enough time on labor and delivery will witness a patient hemorrhage around the time of delivery.  This blog explores risk factors for obstetrical hemorrhage and encourages you to donate blood.

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Some of you are aware that, yes, we do have chickens at our Computer Drive office. That starts with the letter “C”, but this blog post isn’t about them. Cesarean section starts with the letter “C”; let’s talk about that for a bit. I was compiling some data to share with an insurance company who has recently developed a product that doesn’t include WakeMed or Duke as an option for people who end up with that insurance plan. That limits your choice.

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“You have the best job” I frequently hear people say and for the most part this is true. I have delivered thousands of babies and each time I am able to be part of the safe transition from life in the uterus, to life in the world, I realized just how blessed I am to be part of such a special part of families’ lives.  What does the future hold for this new child?  Will she be the one to finally cure cancer?  Will he someday become president?  My job really is the best…Until it isn’t.

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We are currently in the middle of a pretty intense flu season. I am sure most of you know someone who has been diagnosed with the flu or have been diagnosed yourself. I know I have prescirbed Tamiflu to many patients in the last couple of week. This may be a good time to review influenza in the setting of pregnancy.

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