Women’s Health Blog: The Women’s Egg-Timer Test!!!

March 6th, 2010

Ok, so I know this is happening in Australia but it was too interesting to not report on. Besides I posted a related blog on women and their declining fertility just a couple of days ago so felt that I had to comment on this story.

Women in Australia will soon be able to take a simple hormone test to find out how many eggs they still have remaining in their ovaries. I mean talk about GENIUS!!! The whole family planning and fertility treatment landscape will change with this "egg-timer" test, which is a supposedly a blood test to "predict ovum levels based on the concentration of a specific fertility hormone", according to Peter Illingworth, who is the medical director of IVF Australia.

The test will also help test younger women to diagnose if they would be at risk of nothing being able to conceive when they are older and identify women who may reach menopause before the normal age for menopause.

The anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) test would cost only $58 (US dollars) and can result in saving people a lot of money spent on unsuccessful fertility treatments. I can't wait to hear how the women do and what the results show once this test is administered in Australia.

Women’s Health Blog: Iphone Apps for Tracking Women’s Menstrual Cycle???

March 5th, 2010

Hmmm….What will they think of next? I mean isn't technology great??

Now there's an iphone app for tracking your menstrual period. It will tell you whether it's safe to have intercourse without the risk of pregnancy or it tracks the days till the birth of the baby if you are pregnant.

It's called Safe Period Teller and it only costs $4.99. You can input the day your menstrual cycle begins and the app will do all the necessary complicated calculations for you. You would be able to password protect the application so no one else can get to it.

Then you have the Period Tracker Deluxe which costs only $1.99 and it tracks your periods. It gives you updates such as temperature and weight charts to track your basal body temperature; symptoms charts, and options to show cycle days on the calendar. When your period begins you enter the date and it will predict your next period start date for you. You can also view future cycle dates and determine your ovulation and fertile days to help you plan your pregnancy or non-pregnancy.

Amazing!!! A great tool for you ladies and the men in your life too. It has got to be one of the coolest "health" apps ever developed. I say "Kudos to the developer/s!"

 

Women’s Health Blog: Study Shows Women’s Fertility Declines Rapidly After Age 30

March 3rd, 2010

If you are a woman of childbearing age, you're sure to feel the pressure when you hear what a recent study found about women and their ticking biological clock.

Researchers from the University of St. Andrews and Edinburgh University, published a study last month in which they found that "Women lose 90 percent of their eggs by age 30." The above mentioned researchers found that the average woman is born with about 300K eggs and by the time she reaches the age of 30, she is left with only 12% of those 300,000 eggs. By age 40, that number goes down to 3%! Yes, 3%.

Basically regardless of the percentage, what researchers are saying is that as women grow old, they lose eggs at a rapid pace which means that after 30, the fertility of a female body decreases rapidly as each year passes.
 
Of course there are many women who get pregnant after even age 40. Infertility treatments are becoming more and more advanced to its not as if women aged 29 have to go out and get pregnant overnight. However, women who are thinking about starting or adding to their family should know and understand that as they continue to grow older, they will find their fertility declining at a faster pace which may put them at a higher risk for not being able to conceive.

W. Hamish Wallace, a co-author of the Fertility and Sterility study said "Don't leave having a child too late, if it is something that is going to be very important to you…" This is important advise for all women of child-bearing age.

Also, as women age and their eggs get older, the chances of miscarriages and babies born with abnormalities such as Down Syndrome and Autism also increase.
 
So bottom line is this. Yes, we may have increased our lifespan with the advancement of technology but unfortunately, we can't prolong a woman's biological clock. At least for now, there's no way for a woman to produce more eggs. (Who knows, someone may come out with a new way to do so in the future.) So if you are thinking of having a baby, read, be educated, talk to your doctor, and above all make an informed decision on when to start a family.

 

Women’s Health Blog: Vaginal Delivery After Multiple C-Sections

March 2nd, 2010

A new study published in the British obstetrics journal BJOG suggests that women who attempt vaginal childbirth may not have any greater risk of complications even after having babies by cesarean section than women who've had only one prior C-section.
 
Doctors at one time believed that after a C-section the scar on the uterus could rupture during vaginal childbirth. It is now considered a safe option for many women who have had a past C-section to go for a vaginal delivery. As the risk of uterine rupture has been thought to be higher, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) does not currently recommend vaginal delivery for women who have had three or more C-sections.

The new study found that women with at least three prior C-sections showed no increased risk of uterine rupture during vaginal delivery. In fact, of the 89 women who opted to try vaginal childbirth, none had any complications. The lead researcher of the study, Dr. Alison G. Cahill of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests ACOG to reconsider its recommendations for vaginal delivery as an option for women with three or more prior C-sections.

Women’s Health Blog: Vaccines and Medications in Pregnancy Surveillance System (VAMPSS)

February 28th, 2010

Good news for pregnant mothers. Now there's a new surveillance system to monitor the use of vaccines and medications during pregnancy. 

It is called the Vaccines and Medications in Pregnancy Surveillance System (VAMPSS). The VAMPSS has been established by the U.S. Office of Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA)and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
 
So how does VAMPSS work? Basically the VAMPSS system enrolls pregnant women and also follow-up with them to review their exposure to vaccines or medications during pregnancy. The results of the women who were exposed to vaccines or medication are then compared with those participants who weren't exposed.
 
Since VAMPSS collects information directly from pregnant women, there is a good opportunity for the system to obtain data on  more than just exposure to medication including monitoring exposure to alcohol, tobacco and over the counter medicine. 

VAMPSS will first focus on monitoring the respiratory health of pregnant women. It will include the monitoring of vaccines and medications such as the H1N1 influenza vaccines, antiviral medications for the prevention or treatment of the flu during pregnancy, and any asthma medications that are used during pregnancy.
 

Women’s Health Blog: No Link Found between H1N1 Vaccine and Miscarraiges

February 24th, 2010

When 15 pregnant women in California reported miscarriages or stillbirths after taking the H1N1 vaccine, it was easy to see why other pregnant women would feel scared about their own health after taking the H1N1 vaccine.

The California health department officials have been monitoring reports of adverse effects since October 2009 and have not found any relationship between the miscarriages and the H1N1 vaccine.

Across all pregnancies,  there is a 15% rate of pregnancy. However, when comparing the miscarriages seen in California after the administration of the H1N1 to the average rate of miscarriages across all pregnancies, officials found that the rate was just a fraction of one percent. Based on just this case, it is obvious that there doesn't appear to be a direct link between an increased rate of miscarriages after the administration of the H1N1 vaccine.

Like other doctors, I'm hopeful that health officials all over continue to monitor adverse effects of the H1N1 vaccine and issue a quick alert in the case of any new developments.

Women’s Health Blog: Protect Yourself And Your Infant from Whooping Cough

February 23rd, 2010

A team of Australian scientists at the University of New South Wales have published a study that the bacteria for Whooping Cough has developed new strains. The study was published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases in which scientists show that two of the most common strains of the bacteria, Bordetella Pertussis have mutated significantly.
 
Scientists are finding that the vaccination against Whooping Cough are therefore not the most effective. However due to the potential deadliness of this disease for infants, getting vaccinated is still a good idea.
 
According to the Centers for Disease Control Whooping Cough infections can be potentially deadly for babies who are eight weeks or younger. They also report that more than half of these babies get their infection from their parents who may have contracted Whooping Cough which is an upper respiratory infection. Therefore anyone caring for an infant should get themselves a booster shot to protect themselves against developing Whooping Cough.

Women’s Health Blog: Breastfeeding Lowers Heart Disease Risk in Mothers?

February 19th, 2010

A new study by Dr. Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, an assistant professor of medicine, epidemiology, obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Research on Health Care has found an association between duration of breastfeeding and lower risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Although a previous study observed a 23% reduction in heart attack risk in women who had breastfed for a total of two years or more, it wasn't clear whether breastfeeding for shorter periods would have any long-term impact on a mother's health.

This new study  included nearly 140,000 postmenopausal women. The average age of the women in the study was 63. The authors found that women who breastfed for one or more months were less likely to have high blood pressure, diabetes, abnormal cholesterol and cardiovascular diseases. However, it wasn't until after six months of total breastfeeding time that the trend towards lower heart disease risk became statistically significant. After a year of breastfeeding, the risk of high blood pressure dropped by 12%, the risk of diabetes decreased by 20%, the rate of abnormal cholesterol levels dropped by 19% and the overall risk of cardiovascular diseases fell by 9%.

However, the study only shows an association and not a cause-and-effect relationship.  It's important for researchers to look specifically at things women do when they're young and how they might affect heart health.

 

Women’s Health Blog: Obese Pregnant Women Weight Gain During Pregnancy

February 17th, 2010

Obese women in the United States may benefit from gaining as little as 10 pounds extra during pregnancy. A report released by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) advised women with a body mass index, or BMI, of 30 or more to gain between 11 and 20 pounds during pregnancy. The IOM decreased the amount from at least 15 pounds to at least 11 pounds since its last report issued in 1990.

However, Raul Artal, an obstetrician at Saint Louis University suggests that even that amount could lead to health problems both during and after pregnancy and may perpetuate the obesity epidemic. He is also concerned that excessive gestational weight gain has led to an intergenerational weight gain. Artal suggests that under close medical supervision doctors could limit weight gain to 10 pounds in obese women during pregnancy.

Putting on weight during pregnancy is considered essential for fetal development and avoiding small babies and pre-term delivery. However, how much an expecting mother should gain has always been a topic of controversy especially when almost two-thirds of pregnant women in the United States are overweight or obese.

However, the IOM committee thinks that it should conduct more studies on the effects of maintaining or losing weight during pregnancy before assuming Artal's suggestion is safe.
 

Women’s Health Blog: Asthma in Kids Related to Mom’s Uterine Infection during Pregnancy?

February 15th, 2010

A recent study published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine finds preterm infants face an increased risk of developing asthma by age eight and if their mother had a uterine inflammation known as chorioamnionitis at the time of birth. Chorioamnionitis is a bacterial infection that affects about 8% of pregnancies and estimates link it with more than 50% of preterm births.

Lead author Darios Getahun's team reviewed electronic health records for 397,852 births in Southern California between 1991 and 2007. They found that black preterm children whose mothers had chorioamnionits were 50% more likely to develop asthma by age eight. For Hispanics and white preterm babies, the risk of developing asthama was even higher at 70% and 66%. The risks remained the same even after accounting for other asthma risk factors.

The study also found no link between higher asthma rates and chorioamnionitis in preterm births among Asians or Pacific Islanders or full-term births. Getahun's team is now trying to identify a marker in the woman's blood that could verify if symptoms are caused by chorioamnionitis or not.