Archive for November, 2007

Abortion means termination of pregnancy. For having an abortion, consult a gynecologist to confirm your pregnancy and find out the possible alternative abortion method suitable for your condition.

In your first visit, the gynecologist performs a test to confirm your pregnancy.

Once if your pregnancy is confirmed, counseling and pelvic examination will also be done as part of pregnancy tests. You are also informed about the alternative abortion methods.

If your pregnancy is six weeks or less, then RU486/PG is best alternative abortion method. RU stands for Roussel-Uclaf (the initials of the pharmaceutical company) and 486 is a lab serial number. PG is an abbreviation for a drug called Prostaglandin.

The Food And Drug Administration (FDA) approved both these drugs as an alternative abortion method. RU486 blocks the effect of progesterone, which is necessary for the maintenance of pregnancy.

However, prostaglandin when used in sufficient quantity causes the uterus to contract and expel the fetus or embryo.

RU486 can be used alone in very early pregnancy to expel the fetus but it becomes less effective as the days of pregnancy passes.

HIV is the abbreviation for human immunodeficiency virus. HIV Virus is a type of virus called retrovirus.

The virus is of two types: HIV-1 and HIV-2. The HIV virus attacks the T-cells of the human immune system.

Immune system is responsible to fight against the viruses that cause infections to your body.

The size of the HIV virus will be around 0.0001mm, which is too small to see through an ordinary microscope. The HIV virus can be seen easily through electron microscope.

When the HIV virus enters your body, it uses the cells of your immune system to reproduce on its own and reduces the number of healthy T-cells. Thus, it weakens the ability of the immune system to fight against the virus.

The HIV virus reproduces by using the cell’s replicating enzyme. So, the virus uses the cells that have proteins called CD4 receptors on their surfaces because it facilitate the virus to bind with the cell. This is called binding process.

The HIV virus targets the T-cells. The T-cells are a type of white blood cells with plenty of CD4 receptors and responsible for informing your immune system about the virus in the body.

Breastfeeding is a process of feeding a baby with mother’s milk.

It is a healthy practice with various breast feeding benefits to the baby as well as the mother.

For you as a mother, it is important to obtain some information about breastfeeding and the breast feeding benefits (health, nutritional, immunological, developmental benefits).

Breasts (in female) are the organs that produce milk to feed an infant.

During pregnancy, the hormones motivate the glands that produce milk for milk production. The milk production in the breast depends on the frequency of the breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding a baby with mother’s milk provides breast feeding benefits as it is germ-free and a primary and very nutritionally food for the infant in the initial stages.

It contains all the nutrients including vitamins, minerals, fats, water, sugar, and proteins that are needed for the growth and development of the baby.

With breastfeeding, your baby will be active and have very less chances of gaining needless weight. As a result, they can be with less overweight even in their later stages in life.

It also contains complex substances and digestive enzymes that help your baby to have easy digestion and absorption of nutrients into the body efficiently. With this, there will be less gas formation.

Oral contraceptives are also known popularly as ‘the Pill.’

These are effective reversible birth control method for women to prevent unwanted risks of pregnancy.

It usually contains two synthetic female hormones - estrogen and progesterone.

The aim of oral contraceptives is to prevent the ovaries from releasing an egg for fertilization (ovulation). Without an ovulation, you cannot become pregnant.

It provides 99.7% effective results when taken regularly in right dosage.

However, to have full safety, it is better to use a second form of contraception that can be used in the first seven days of the first cycle.

Simultaneously, you must also remember that oral contraceptives cannot protect you from sexually transmitted diseases.

Different brands and types of oral contraceptives are available, which usually comes in packs of twenty-one or twenty-eight pills. The types are combined pills, emergency contraceptive pills, mini pill, and phased regimen pill.

These oral contraceptives should be taken one for each day. They provide immediate results when taken immediately the day after your menstrual periods or an abortion.

It is highly recommended to consult a doctor before you start taking the oral contraceptives.

Hepatitis B is a serious health condition that is caused by a virus called Hepatitis B Virus (HBV). It is also known as serum hepatitis.

It is a liver infection attacking the liver and makes it swell and stop working and also causes liver cancer, liver failure and even death.

Liver is the most essential part of the body that helps store vitamins, iron, minerals and energy in the form of glucose.

It is responsible for the production of bile for digestion of the food. It help fight against the germs that enter your body.

It is estimated that, in the United States, approximately 250,000 people are infected with Hepatitis B yearly.

It is a contagious liver infection that can spread easily through direct contact with an infected person because the virus will be present in the blood and body fluids. As it is transmitted from person to person through the infection in the blood, the virus is also known as blood-borne virus.

So, by having sexual contact with infected person, by sharing the drug needles or razor or tooth brush or by using body piercing tools of an infected person, you can easily get infected with hepatitis B.

Adenomyosis is a benign medical condition of the uterus where the endometrial tissue (the inner lining of the uterus) grows in the outer muscular walls of the uterus.

This condition is also known as endometriosis interna or internal endometriosis.

Remember that adenomyosis is different from endometriosis.

It is a condition where the cells that line the inside of the uterus sheds during menstruation and becomes implanted outside of the uterus.

It generally occurs when the endometrial tissue of the uterus bleeds during your menstruation, the old tissue and blood will unable to escape the uterine muscle and flows out of the cervix (the lower part of the uterus) as part of normal menstrual periods.

In some cases, adenomyosis may cause a growth within the uterus. This is called an adenomyoma. Adenomyosis generally develops after your reproductive age that is above thirty-five years.

The cause of adenomyosis is unknown. However, it is found that the barrier that separates endometrium and myometrium will get comprised and allows the invasion of endometrial glands into the myometrium instead of preventing the invasion.

Dysmenorrhea refers to the condition with menstrual cramps and painful periods.

Dysmenorrhea is of two types: primary dysmenorrhea and secondary dysmenorrhea.

Primary dysmenorrhea refers to menstrual cramping and pain in the lower abdomen that usually occurs before or during menstrual periods.

It occurs in the absence of certain pelvic diseases. The primary dysmenorrhea is so common that the occurrence of it is about ninety percent.

With primary dysmenorrhea, you generally experience unusual uterine contractions due to chemical imbalances in your body.

On the other hand, secondary dysmenorrhea refers to the menstrual pain in the presence of pelvic diseases. Most often, the secondary dysmenorrhea condition occurs due to endometriosis, which results in infection, pelvic pain and internal bleeding.

Pelvic inflammatory disease, uterine fibroids, pelvic infection, tumors, or polyps are also cause secondary dysmenorrhea. The pain usually begins few days before the onset of the menstrual periods and remains for several days after the periods.

Dysmenorrhea is so common that it affects forty-five to ninety percent of all women of reproductive age. You can develop this condition easily if you smoke, consume alcohol during menses, the onset of your menstruation is before eleven years, or overweight.

If you are at menopause stage, you should follow menopause diet to deal with the changes that occur at the time of menopause.

Menopause diet is about a balanced diet that contains certain types of food while forgoing other foods.

You should incorporate different foods with different nutrients which are necessary for your body.

You cannot prevent menopause as every women experiences it, but you can control the symptoms of menopause through menopause diet.

You can relieve from symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes, mood swings and bloating with menopause diet. You can feel better with well balanced diet. Menopause makes it necessary to include certain types of foods to prevent problems and illnesses that often occur at that stage.

Fruits and vegetables! Melons and citrus fruits are highly recommended as they are high in potassium and balance sodium and water retention.

Dried fruits like figs and apricots should be included. Include vegetables like broccoli, yams and collard greens which make your menopause symptoms to ease.

Omega-3 essential fatty acids! You have to increase the consumption of foods that are rich in omega-3 essential fatty acids which include tuna, sardines, salmon, trout and herring as they meet the required criteria of menopause diet.