Ever since the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force suggested relaxing the rigid schedule for mammography testing in 2009, patients seeking a unified, authoritative voice on the topic have been rewarded with confusion. Probably because the medical community, too, is unresolved about who needs what kind of breast screening and when. A study published this week….
Continue ReadingGynecology
Philadelphia physicians failed to report dangerous peer
Many women who went to Dr. Kermit Gosnell to end their pregnancies came away with life-threatening infections and punctured organs; some still had fetal parts inside them when they arrived at the ER of nearby hospitals. Though physicians at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which operates two hospitals within a mile of the West….
Continue ReadingHospital’s comprehensive obstetrics program cuts malpractice claims by 99%
Anyone who believes it’s inevitable that some babies will get injured during childbirth may have a change of heart after reading how a New York City hospital dramatically cut staff errors and reduced medical malpractice payouts by 99%. In a report published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, the head of the obstetrics….
Continue Reading“I’m very sorry. What can I do to help?”
That’s all that a sick friend needs to hear from you. Two sentences. Nine words. Too often, what they hear instead is silence — you don’t know what to say, you’re afraid to say the wrong thing, and so the friend winds up feeling abandoned in a time of need. Or, just as bad, friends….
Continue ReadingNew Study Shows Benefits of Keeping Ovaries
Since the 1970’s, gynecologists would generally advise women who are hysterectomy candidates to also have their ovaries removed, along with the uterus. The idea was to prevent ovarian cancer, which is difficult to detect but often deadly. However, Roni Rabin reports in a New York Times story that a new study finds compelling reasons for….
Continue ReadingShould Pregnant Women Have a Thyroid Test?
If you are pregnant and experiencing fatigue, dry skin, sleep loss, or weight loss, it may be worthwhile to find out whether you are a candidate for a thyroid test – these symptoms, while common in pregnant women, may be caused by underactivity (hypothyroidism) or overactivity (hyperthyroidism) of the thyroid gland. If untreated during pregnancy,….
Continue ReadingNew Ovarian Cancer Test Raises Doubts Among OB-GYNs
A new LabCorp blood test called OvaSure is aimed at early detection of ovarian cancer, but OB-GYNs doubt its efficacy and safety, as false positives might lead to unnecessary surgery and extreme anxiety. Ovarian cancer often goes undetected until later stages, by which point it can be too late to treat it effectively. A test….
Continue ReadingDoctors and Women Patients
Tara Parker-Pope has a blog post about how doctors will treat women of childbearing age as “pre-pregnant,” focusing on their reproductive capacities to the detriment of their overall health. Obviously reproductive matters are an important part of overall health and can influence many other medical conditions. But so can a lot of other common issues:….
Continue ReadingStudy: 24% of Pregnant Women Feel Poorly Informed by Gynecologist
A Spanish study, conducted on 250 participants of varied nationalities, shows that 24% of pregnant women feel poorly informed by their gynecologists and that nearly half do not take any pre-natal course. Considering the medical, social and emotional importance of pregnancy and childbirth, it is especially vital for pregnant patients to be informed and in….
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