Archive for the 'Women's Reproductive Health' Category

Are you thinking about birth control options after child birth? It is quite common for new mothers to think about birth control options immediately after pregnancy, particularly if it is your first pregnancy.

Even if you are a breast feeding mother there is no guarantee that you are not probable to get an unexpected pregnancy. However, if you want to make it simple, here are few ways to prevent pregnancy after child birth.

4 Birth Control Options For New Mothers

1. Go for something that can be less burdensome to your sexual life. However, it can be quite tough to have enough energy and desire in sexual activity, particularly in post partum period. So, go for a birth control option that can be less difficult for you.
2. If you are breast feeding mother, don’t use combination of birth control pills, monthly shots and also vaginal rings. Take necessary suggestions from your health care provider and prefer better option to prevent unexpected pregnancy.
3. If you are planning to not have children after pregnancy, you can look permanent birth control choices like male sterilization such as vasectomy or female sterilization that involves tying of tubes.

Canadian high school students may lack important knowledge about risk factors for infertility, survey findings suggest.

For example, most students were unaware that some sexually transmitted infections can cause infertility.

“About 80 percent of students said they were familiar with the term infertility,” Susan Quach, of Sunnybrook and Women’s College Hospital Fertility Center in Toronto, told.

But when asked more specific infertility-related questions, fewer students answered correctly, indicating a lack of knowledge that may increase their risk of infertility later in life, Quash said.

For example, more than 94 percent of the students did not know that sexually transmitted infections, such as chlamydia or gonorrhea can lead to infertility, Quash and co-investigator Dr. Clifford Librach at the University of Toronto report in the journal Fertility and Sterility.

The researchers asked 772 ethnically diverse high school students to complete a written questionnaire designed to determine their knowledge of and attitudes about infertility. The students were 17.5 years old, on average, and 49 percent were female.

A total of 608 students completed the questionnaire and, as noted, the vast majority did not know that chlamydia and gonorrhea can lead to infertility. About 25 percent thought fertility problems only occurred among women 40 years or older.

Drug and alcohol problems and psychiatric disorders are more likely in women who have had an abortion or miscarriage, a University of Queensland study has found.

PhD candidate Kaeleen Dingle found young women who lost a pregnancy were more susceptible to depression, anxiety, alcohol dependency and illicit substance abuse than women who had never been pregnant.

Ms Dingle said her study expanded on recent evidence that suggested abortions were associated with later psychiatric disorders, by finding miscarriage held the same risks.

“Our findings suggest that this increased risk of psychiatric problems in some women after an abortion may be associated with pregnancy loss rather than caused by the experience of having an induced abortion,” she said.

“We found that young women having a miscarriage or an abortion were three times more likely to experience a drug or alcohol problem during their lifetime.”

Ms Dingle said the study had implications for caregivers, who may need to give more counselling and support to women who have lost a pregnancy.

“Also, health professionals involved in the care of young women with mental health problems need to take good pregnancy histories, as young women can have complex pregnancy histories involving births, miscarriages and abortions,” she said.

Age is a factor for women with heavy menstrual bleeding who undergo a procedure to remove the endometrium, or lining of the womb.

The younger they are at the time of the procedure, the more likely they will eventually require a hysterectomy, according to a new report.

Dr. Mindyn K. Longinotti, from Kaiser Permanente Northern California in San Francisco, told “The main change that has occurred in the counseling of patients after this research is the ability to discuss failure rates of endometrial ablation based on the patient’s age.

” Over the long term, the probability of not needing a hysterectomy is “more likely in women over the age of 45.”

Longinotti and colleagues conducted a study to identify what factors predicted that so-called endometrial ablation wouldn’t solve the problem of heavy bleeding and that a hysterectomy would be needed eventually.

Among 3681 women who underwent endometrial ablation, 774 (21 percent) subsequently needed a hysterectomy, the investigators report in the medical journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Age was the only significant risk factor for subsequent hysterectomy, the researchers found, with women under age 45 being twice as likely to have a hysterectomy as women over 45.

Do you get your periods regularly? Having a regular menstrual cycle is a sign of good health but it can be quite complicated if you have fluctuating hormones and late or missed periods.

When your menstrual cycle is regular, it means that it is exactly the same length all the time. On the other hand, irregular or late periods mean that the cycle can vary by days in length.

If you have irregular or late menstrual periods, you are likely to frequently question why you have late periods.

In order to clarify the doubts in your mind, here are a few of the most common reasons for late periods:

1. Extreme stress: Emotional and physical stress can contribute equally to late or irregular periods. If you’ve experienced a lot of physical and emotional stress, you will probably experience a change in your menstrual cycle.
2. Overweight: If you are carrying more body pounds than required, your period may be delayed or irregular.
3. Prescribed medications: Certain prescribed medications including birth control pills can affect your menstrual cycle.
4. Pregnancy: Depending on your age and recent sexual intercourse, your period will be late if you are pregnant. This is the first thing to consider if your period is late.

Coping with pregnancy loss is one of the most devastating and difficult things anyone can ever do.

It often brings feeling about guilt, depression, sadness and also fear.

The most beneficial way to cope with pregnancy loss is to deal with these emotions and handle them in a more effective way.

There are a number of ways to handle your emotions after miscarriage. Some of the best ways include:

Avoid blaming yourself: Realize that it’s not your fault and miscarriage or complications in pregnancy can happen to anyone.

Talk openly about your feelings and how it is affecting you with your partner to lift the burden from your mind.

Consult therapists: Meet with therapists individually and talk to them about your miscarriage. This can be a huge help to allow you to grieve over your loss together.

They can also help give you effective techniques that will enable you to understand what has happened to you.

Take a break from work: If you feel incapable of continuing your regular work routine, don’t force yourself. Taking a break from your regular routine can help you to acknowledge and examine all that you are going through.

Is there any link between progesterone and miscarriage? Many scientists believe that progesterone plays a vital role in miscarriage and also in pregnancy.

Progesterone is most important hormone of pregnancy and menstrual cycle.

Level of progesterone rises every month and prepares your uterine lining for pregnancy.

As progesterone is linked with pregnancy and miscarriage, some doctors believe that low levels of progesterone during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage.

Is it really true?

Even though low levels of progesterone can lead to miscarriage, but it is not progesterone that is entirely responsible for miscarriage.

Unfortunately, many women believe that low level of progesterone is main cause behind their miscarriage and undergo treatments for low levels of progesterone. As a result, they are experiencing recurrent miscarriage.

So, it is very important for you to realize that low progesterone levels are not the only reason for miscarriage. There are many other factors including low progesterone level that causes miscarriage.

What are those other factors?

Most miscarriages take place due to abnormal development of fetus. Even the genes or chromosomes of the fetus play a vital role in miscarriage.

Menstrual cramps and disturbing PMS symptoms are most common problems among females of reproductive age.

Fortunately, it is quite possible to get better relief from these disturbing menstrual problems, particularly menstrual cramps, using essential oils.

How to use essential oil for managing menstrual cramps?

Almond, rosemary and lavender essential oils can help you greatly to relieve menstrual cramps. The preparation is quite easy for this mixture.

Take 2 ounces of sweet almond oil and add 15 drops of rosemary oil to it. Now, to this mixture, add 15 drops of lavender oil. Stir or shake it well until oils get mixed well. Place the oil mixture in a container and keep it aside.

Now take a container and add water to it. Boil water thoroughly. After that, keep boiling water in a thick cup that doesn’t melt or break to heat. Now, put the container with essential oil mixture in boiling water container and again heat the container. This method is called double boiling.

Once you notice that oil mixture is warmed up, pour the oil mixture over flannel cloth and then lie down relaxingly on your bed. Now, place the warm essential oiled cloths over your lower abdomen that covers uterus and ovaries.