Category: Obstetrics

A mom hold her n=infant dealing with maternal mental health aka PMADs

Maternal Mental Health: PMADs

Many parents have heard the term Postpartum Depression, but PERINATAL encompasses both the pregnancy and postpartum periods, extending to 1 year AFTER delivery. While mild mood changes can be common during the perinatal period, up to 1 IN 5 women (20%) experience more significant perinatal mood and anxiety disorders – also known as PMADs. PMADs can affect anyone and do not discriminate based on ethnicity, age or socioeconomic status. Here, we’ll discuss the implications of PMADs during pregnancy, symptoms to look out for, and what you can do to reduce your pregnancy-related risks and to feel better.

Written by on June 9, 2023

a mother and newborn baby's hands to represent vaginal seding

Vaginal Seeding: Fact Or Fiction?

Previously written and published by Dr. Smith in 2018 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 […]

Written by on May 8, 2023

A mom breastfeeding to represent the maternal benefits of breastfeeding

Maternal Benefits of Breastfeeding

When people talk about breastfeeding, they usually focus on the benefits for babies. Your family, friends, pediatricians and OBGYNs will tell you that breastmilk provides excellent nutrition and has major health benefits for babies. But what we don’t talk about nearly enough, are the significant positive impacts that breastfeeding has on mom. 

Written by on May 3, 2023

negative pregnancy test to represent national infertility awareness month

Shedding Light on Infertility for National Infertility Awareness Week

In the United States, infertility affects 10-15% of heterosexual couples, making it one of the most common medical diagnoses for people ages 20 to 45 years old. Amongst married women in the U.S. specifically, 19% are affected. The WHO estimates that ONE in SIX couples worldwide experience infertility during their lifetime. LGBTQ couples face family building challenges at well. What these substantial numbers suggest is a high likelihood that most of us either know someone affected by infertility, or have been affected by infertility ourselves. Yet there is still so much that is not talked about when it comes to Infertility. Infertility can feel lonely and isolating to those trying to build a family. To address this, National Infertility Awareness Week, or NIAW, was started in 1989 to improve education and bring awareness to infertility.

Written by on April 25, 2023

A pregnant woman outside to represent the weather and your pregnancy

Weather and Your Pregnancy

As I sit here on call on Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023, writing this blog post, I am reflecting about the last 48 straight hours of rainfall as well as the crazy weather shifts going on at the Masters golf tournament this weekend.  I started thinking about weather and temperature changes and pregnancies and the passing comments the doctors make to each other like “Good luck, big storm coming in tonight, be ready for some water to break.”  Does weather really affect pregnancy?  Does water break more often with pressure changes in the weather?  Do more women go into labor with storms?  Let’s take a closer look.

Written by on April 19, 2023

a woman dealing with postpartum hair loss

Postpartum Hair Loss

A very common concern for our postpartum patients is hair loss. I know for certain my wife was not happy seeing clumps of hair come out in the shower or while styling her hair.  Like most new moms, she immediately thought something must be wrong and that all her hormones needed to be checked. In actuality, postpartum hair loss is very common. And yes it is caused by hormones; however most of the time this is just a natural process.  Let’s take a deeper look.

Written by on April 13, 2023