Women's Health

Well Woman Exam | Obstetrics | Infertility | Gynecology | Breast Cancer

Well Woman Exam

A well woman examination, also known as your annual gynecological exam, is a vital part of your overall health care. This exam is a preventative measure that can help prevent illness, lead to early detection of cancers, detect infections and other conditions before they cause serious damage. Through wellness exams, your doctor can monitor any health changes over time and provide helpful information for healthy living.

Well woman exams include talking about your personal, family, and medical history and taking your vital signs. It may also include laboratory tests, screening for infections and other conditions, counseling, a pelvic exam, and a breast exam. Pap tests are also a part of gynecological exams. They can detect the presence of abnormal cells in the cervix, infections and inflammations of the cervix, and other cervical conditions.

If you have been experiencing any changes in your body, such as changes in your menstruation or unexplained pain, this is the time to discuss it with your doctor. We invite you to ask questions and discuss any concerns you may have.

Obstetrics

Obstetrics is the medical specialty that provides care to women during pregnancy, childbirth and after childbirth. Planning and managing a pregnancy should begin with a thorough exam by a medical professional. Your doctor can get you started on a pregnancy plan that will be of most benefit to you and your unborn child, and is there to guide and counsel you throughout the 9-month journey and after.

Prenatal Care
Prenatal care is vital to the health of both mother and baby. It encompasses low-risk pregnancies as well as high-risk ones that involve gestational diabetes, cervical incompetence, hypertension, preeclampsia or pre-term labor. Routine testing is an important part of prenatal care as it provides information about the mother and the baby’s health. These tests include hCG (to diagnose pregnancy), Alphafetoprotein screening (indicates risk of fetal neural tube defects), ultrasound (to detect any abnormalities in the baby) and a glucose screening (to check for gestational diabetes). If you are over 35 years old and are a high-risk patient, your doctor may recommend an amniocentesis or Chorionic Villus Sampling to detect any birth defects in your baby.

Childbirth
Childbirth, also known as labor and delivery, is an exciting time as you bring a new life into the world. Delivery methods include vaginal, cesarean section and VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean). Many mothers want a natural childbirth, when no medications are used during labor, while others want pain relief and receive epidural anesthesia. If progress is not being made during labor, your doctor may recommend induction to help the childbirth process.

Postpartum
After the baby arrives, you may have a lot of questions or concerns about your care - from vaginal soreness if you had a vaginal delivery or abdominal pain if you had a c-section. You may also have concerns about constipation, vaginal discharge and hair loss. Your breasts may become sore and swollen in preparation to produce milk. You may also have questions concerning breastfeeding, the proper techniques and if your child is getting enough to eat. In addition, hormonal changes in your body can contribute to the emotional changes you may be feeling.

If you have any questions after the birth of your child – especially if you feel you are getting depressed – please contact us.

Infertility

Infertility is the condition of being unable to conceive a child or bring a pregnancy to full term. Though it is one term, infertility can cover a wide range of causes and conditions, in both the male and female partner. Primary infertility, for example, refers to a couple’s inability to conceive their first child, while secondary infertility refers to an inability to conceive after a pregnancy has already been brought to term. Subfertility is a couple who is having trouble conceiving a child (usually trying unsuccessfully for more than 12 months) but is not biologically incapable of doing so.

Causes
Infertility can be caused by conditions in a woman such as endometriosis, fallopian tube damage, uterine fibroids or imbalance of hormones. Infertility in men can be due to a vasectomy, low sperm count and varicocole, a condition in which blood veins near the testicles become swollen and/or twisted. And infertility in either sex can occur due to age, genetic factors or diseases. Still, in roughly 15% of cases of infertility, there is no as-yet-identifiable cause of infertility.

Treatment
While infertility can be emotionally stressful and damaging, there are medical treatments that can give many couples hope of conception. Infertility treatments usually begin with medication, designed to increase the fertility of either the woman, man or both. Failing that, there are also other procedures, such as in-vitro fertilization, which can attempt to complete the fertilization outside the human body, and artificial insemination, which attempts to complete fertilization inside the body. While the field of infertility treatment grows every day, medical treatments are still an invaluable resource: a little more than half of the couples that seek medical intervention for infertility can expect a successful pregnancy.

Gynecology

Gynecology is the specialty of medicine that deals with women’s healthcare - primarily the female reproductive system, including the uterus, vagina and ovaries. Many issues that gynecology encompass include menstruation, menopause, hormonal issues, infertility, birth control and infectious diseases.

Gynecology is an important part of health care for women. Routine gynecological care can help prevent illness and discomfort, lead to early detection of cancers, make pregnancy and childbirth easier, and detect infections and other conditions before they cause serious damage.

Breast Cancer

The National Cancer Institute recommends women in their forties or older get screening mammograms on a regular basis, every 1 to 2 years. Women who are at increased risk for breast cancer should seek medical advice about when to begin having mammograms and how often to be screened.

Age and heredity play a significant role in determining if you are at high risk for breast cancer. The risk increases as you advance in age: about 75 percent of all breast cancers occur after age 50. If you have a family history of breast cancer, such as a mother, daughter or sister who has been diagnosed, then you may have a greater risk of developing breast cancer.

In order to detect an abnormality, there are three steps to follow:

Give yourself a monthly breast self-exam.
Have an annual clinical examination by a professional trained in breast exams.
Have a mammogram (breast imaging) according to the recommendations of the American Cancer Society.

A lump is typically the first sign of breast cancer. Three out of four breast lumps turn out to be non-cancerous. However, those that are painless, has uneven edges and is hard is more likely to be cancerous. The bottom line is that survival rates increase the earlier a lump is detected. Other symptoms of breast cancer include breast pain, nipple discharge, skin irritation, swelling in the breast and a lump under the arm.

When cancer is found, the stage of the cancer will determine the appropriate treatment options, which include:

Surgery
Radiation
Hormonal therapy
Chemotherapy

It is important to talk with your physician about the advantages and disadvantages of each option in helping you decide the best treatment plan for you and your family.