great questions, reliable answers

Welcome, Friends!

Thank you so much for stopping by.  I hope that you will find this blog to be a comfortable space to learn more about women’s health.  My goal is to share some tips and knowledge to benefit your busy everyday life.  You’ll find evidenced based medicine recommendations, some personal anecdotes, and life hacks to help you care for yourself and those you love.  I hope that you feel like we are having a conversation over coffee.  So grab your favorite mug and read on.

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How often should we be having Pap smears?

The optimal screening depends on a particular woman’s history and the testing that her gynecologist has available.  Most labs in our area have the cytology and the HPV co-testing but the FDA primary HPV screening test approved this past Fall may not be as readily available or covered by major insurance carriers.  In general, Paps should begin at age 21 and if normal, happen every 3 years.  Then from age 30-65, Pap smears with HPV testing every 5 years may be optimal.  Alternatively, HPV screening alone may be done every 5 years, provided they are negative. 

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What can help with postpartum anxiety and depression?

I think there is this myth in our culture that early motherhood and having a newborn is supposed to be the most wonderful time of a woman’s life.  And can we just agree that perception of motherhood is not a realistic experience? While it is not in the mainstream women’s health literature, chronic sleep deprivation, as defined by over a week in duration of inadequate sleep, is associated with changes in the brain chemistry that mirror major depression.   I believe that the sleep deprivation associated with being the parent of an infant and feeding that baby every 2-4 hours around the clock can absolutely trigger anxiety and depression and worsen symptoms for women who have those mental health tendencies at baseline.

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What can I expect with perimenopause and menopause, and what treatments are out there to make it better?

Menopause, is by definition, no menstrual periods for an entire year.  The median age of menopause in the U.S. is 51.  Perimenopause, is the time leading up to menopause where our ovaries start to slow hormone production, and that transition is, on average, about 5 years in length.  In addition to periods becoming irregular both in timing and amount of flow, common menopausal and perimenopausal symptoms include hot flashes, night sweats and difficulty sleeping, mood changes, brain fog, skin changes, and vaginal tissue changes that can lead to painful sex. 

The good news is there are treatment options available! 

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