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 Pregnancy
And Various Kinds Of Ovarian Cysts
One woman described
how she'd had two miscarriages already. The first one was at 21
weeks, the second was at eight weeks. And she found out during her
second pregnancy that she had a dermoid cyst on her right ovary. And
she writes in that we consulted a doctor that said it wasn’t the
cause of my miscarriage, and can I still try getting pregnant? It
was almost a year passed since I had my second miscarriage, and I'm
trying to get pregnant, but what I just observed with myself now is
I can't get pregnant as easily now like before, any advice? First of
all, the first advice is she had two miscarriages, miscarriages are
extremely common. Twenty percent of all pregnancies miscarry before
12 weeks, it's nature's way of ridding vaginetic products. The
miscarriage at 21 weeks was rather unusual. I'm assuming that this
was something that was looked into, and probably was not a cause of
anything that would repeat itself. The dermoid cyst on her right
ovary, well if she knows she had a dermoid cyst on the right ovary,
that must have been removed. We were probably given part of the
information because no doctor's going to leave a dermoid cyst. As
far as her so-called - her concerns about infertility since that
dermoid cyst, pregnancy is not as easy as one thinks. Pregnancy -
the average couple who have intercourse the average number of times,
which is 2.5 times per week will conceive 90 percent of the time in
one year, in two years 95 percent. But you still have ten percent
that are not going to conceive in one year. So one year of lack of
conception is not an infertility concern in my mind. So my advice is
just continue trying, don’t worry about the cyst, and hopefully
pregnancy number three will be absolutely normal. Let's see, there
was something else here. Oh, there is an increasing number of women
- since we mentioned some drugs, we should mention Tamoxifen.
Tamoxifen is an anti-breast cancer drug, the most commonly used.
Women are often on it five years, very effective. The good news is
Tamoxifen works, being an anti-estrogen effect on the breast, it
stops the estrogen receptors. Because breast tumors many times have
- they like estrogen. So this particular anti-cancer drug works by
blocking estrogen. But it has some good news too, it has a positive
estrogen effect on bone and on the heart. And we know that estrogen
can be good for bone growth, that's why many women are given
estrogens after menopause. And it can be good on bone growth and
prevent heart disease. The one problem with women on this particular
drug though is that it causes in some cases a slight increase in
uterus cancers, because it has the positive estrogen effect on the
uterus. And it can in some cases increase any cysts that are there.
But to my knowledge there is no evidence that it can cause ovary
cancers. So we have some effects from this powerful anti-breast
cancer drug that are positive, no ovary bad effects except it can
cause an increased size in the cysts. And these would be managed
like any other cysts. I think one thing here is - one woman writes
in and she says is surgery a must for a cyst measuring 20
centimeters? 20 centimeters is huge. Greater than 10 centimeters is
huge. The answer is unequivocally 20-centimeter cyst is in risk of
torsion, it should be operated upon, no questions asked. And we
don’t know the age of this woman, but the odds are most likely in
her favor because it's a cyst. And the other one here is - I have
one question I think is very good. Is a hysterectomy the best option
for an ovary cyst on a 68-year-old woman, any other options? I'm
going to answer that because I'm from the school of thought that
says if you're going in for a hysterectomy in the menopausal years,
I believe those ovaries should come out. Now this is Doctor
Christopher Freeville's philosophy, many colleagues agree with me,
some do not. But the ovary has very little function after menopause.
At menopause it doesn’t have any except it can serve as a place for
bad tumors and bad cysts to grow. So if for some reason one has to
have a hysterectomy at the menopausal time in life, my strong
recommendation would be discussed with your doctor should the
ovaries come out. Because unfortunately, ovary cancers, which are
not really the topic of this discussion, often don’t show up and
have symptoms until they're somewhat progressed. That's something I
wanted to throw in there.
5 Heart
Healthy Exercises You Can Do During Pregnancy
Pregnancy is a time of celebration,
love, and unwanted but necessary weight gain. However, being
pregnant doesn’t mean that your health and figure has to suffer
permanent damage. You can gain weight in a healthy fashion while
doing some very easy and safe heart healthy pregnancy exercise
routines. One of the simplest and most effective pregnancy exercises
you can do is walking. Not only is walking one of the best
cardiovascular exercises, it is also one of the safest pregnancy
exercises you can engage in. Walking is one of the few pregnancy
exercises that you can do for the complete duration of your
pregnancy. Another extremely beneficial heart healthy pregnancy
exercise is swimming. Countless doctors and pregnant women have
attested to the wonderful benefits of swimming during pregnancy. A
weekly pregnancy exercise routine of swimming gives both the arms
and legs a great workout while promoting cardiovascular health.
Because of the nature of being subdued in water, swimming will also
remind expectant mothers what it felt like before the pounds were
added on. This is definitely a welcome change every now and then.
The third pregnancy exercise routine you can start doing to keep
your body healthy is enrolling in an aerobics class. Many fitness
centers and community centers offer low impact aerobics classes for
pregnant women. One of the nicer benefits of this pregnancy exercise
is that it is done in the company of other pregnant women under the
watchful eye of a professional aerobics instructor. This means you
are going to get a safe workout catered to the special needs of
pregnancy. Weight training is also a very beneficial pregnancy
routine to keep your body healthy. Although you must only use very
light weights when engaging in this pregnancy exercise, weight
training is an excellent way of toning your body and increasing
muscular strength. The last heart healthy pregnancy exercise you can
do to stay fit is Pilates/yoga. Both of these body conditioning
exercises promote stretching and flexibility within the muscles.
Yoga is also a nice accompaniment to walking. By doing a combination
of these pregnancy exercises, you can have a healthy balanced
cardiovascular routine. Being pregnant doesn’t mean that you have to
sacrifice exercise and health. By walking, swimming, doing aerobics,
weight training, and engaging in a Pilates/yoga routine, you can
have a healthy and fit pregnancy.
WHAT IS AN ECTOPIC PREGNANCY?
The dictionary definition of the word
‘Ectopic’ is an organ or body part existing in an unusual position
or form. In simple terms, an ectopic pregnancy is a pregnancy, which
is developing in the wrong place. An ectopic pregnancy occurs when
the fertilized egg (or ovum) fails to move down the fallopian tube
and into the womb (or uterus) in the normal manner. Instead, the egg
or ovum implants itself outside of the womb. Most often, (in 95% of
cases), ectopic pregnancies develop in a fallopian tube and rarely,
elsewhere in the abdominal cavity or pelvic area. For example, an
egg can attach itself on an ovary, on the neck of the womb (cervix)
or on another organ within the pelvic or abdominal area (1.5%
abdominal, 0.5% ovarian & 0.03% cervical). Ectopic pregnancies do
not usually survive and many will result in a spontaneous
miscarriage, others will develop until a serious problem becomes
apparent, which will require immediate medical attention.
WHAT CAUSES AN ECTOPIC PREGNANCY?
Sometimes the ovum fails to implant itself and it becomes fertilized
outside of the reproductive system. More commonly, the fertilized
ovum is trapped, in the fallopian tube and the baby continues to
grow inside the tube where it can cause the tube to burst or
otherwise severely damage it. A burst tube is life threatening and
requires urgent medical attention. In many cases, ectopic
pregnancies occur when the expectant mother has damaged fallopian
tube(s). Tubes damaged, by infections such as pelvic inflammatory
disease or by previous surgery, scar tissue, endometriosis or
previous ectopic pregnancies are a high-risk factor, which
significantly, increase the likelihood of a pregnancy being ectopic.
Another risk factor associated with ectopic pregnancies is becoming
pregnant, whilst using a contraceptive-coil or a progestogen only
contraceptive pill. Pregnancies resulting from in vitro
fertilization (i.e. test-tube methods) can be ectopic - even though,
the fertilized egg is placed directly into the womb, it may still
attach itself elsewhere. In some cases, none of the above risk
factors are present in the expectant mother.
WHAT ARE THE WARNING SIGNS OF AN ECTOPIC PREGNANCY?
Pain In the Abdomen - The first sign of an ectopic pregnancy can be
a pain on one side of the abdomen. This pain can be constant and
severe and its onset, sudden. Pain in the Shoulder - An alternative
warning sign could be a pain in the shoulder, which intensifies when
breathing in and out. Pain Using the Lavatory - If you suspect you
are pregnant and experience pain during visits to the bathroom you
should report this to your medical practitioner. Other Warning Signs
Vaginal bleeding or unusual periods, lighter or heavier than normal,
or a strange color etc Sickness Diarrhea Pallid complexion
(paleness) Light-headedness Collapse Increasing pulse rate Falling
blood pressure
DIAGNOSING AN ECTOPIC PREGNANCY
Ectopic pregnancies can be hard to detect as in many cases, the
symptoms are no different from those of a normal, early pregnancy,
i.e. tender breasts, nausea, vomiting, missed periods or frequent
urination. If you are a sexually active woman of childbearing age
and you experience symptoms of an early pregnancy plus any, of the
above warning signs, of an ectopic pregnancy, contact your medical
practitioner immediately. A urine pregnancy test will usually be
positive but is not always apparent. However, a specialized hCG
blood test will always show a positive result. If a pregnancy is
ectopic, the womb will often be smaller than the average womb at
that stage of pregnancy and this will be detected during an internal
pelvic examination. A doctor can sometimes detect a swelling, during
an internal examination, which is evidence of an ectopic pregnancy
existing. An ultrasound scan will differentiate between a possible
miscarriage, a normal pregnancy and an ectopic pregnancy. The
majority of women diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy will require
surgical intervention and/or medication. In the worst-case scenario,
without this intervention, an ectopic pregnancy can be fatal to the
mother. Medical and technological advancements mean that ectopic
pregnancies are easier to detect than ever before and therefore,
they carry less risk than they did in previous years. Technological
advancements have significantly improved the treatment of ectopic
pregnancies - keyhole surgery is just one example of this. It is
vital to seek the opinion of a medical practitioner if you suspect
you are carrying an ectopic pregnancy.
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