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Cortisol seems to be the hormone du jour right now with lots of attention from social media and popular magazines (Vogue anyone?). While there are hundreds of hormones in the body, cortisol is a steroid hormone that is naturally produced in the adrenal glands. The primary function of cortisol is preparing the body for…
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Are you a breastfeeding mom who does not want to be pregnant? Then this post is for you! I was recently asked by a breastfeeding mama if checking basal body temperatures while breastfeeding would help her know when to avoid sex and another (too soon!) pregnancy. Unfortunately for women who have no periods while…
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8. She won’t judge you if you didn’t shave your legs today, but she does appreciate that you showered. 7. Kindly reconsider wearing those sweaty ballet flats to your Gyno appointment. Your stinky feet are literally inches from your doctor’s nose during the exam. 6. Either you’re well, or you’re not. Your insurance will…
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Ooh, Friend. Let’s dig in! PCOS stands for polycystic ovarian syndrome, and there are some different criteria for diagnosis out there, but the mainstay of diagnostic criteria are called the Rotterdam Criteria. The Rotterdam Criteria propose that a woman with irregular cycles, for which other causes of cycle irregularity have been ruled out, she…
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Dear Mothers, You are my friends, my peers, my patients, and my mentors, and I want to celebrate you today! Whether you are a biological mother or not, Mother’s day can be pregnant (see what I did there?) with a lot of emotion. I want to take a moment to share my gratitude for…
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Sometimes in a baby girl’s fetal development there can be a glitch in the development of the uterus. The uterus and the ovaries originate from different tissues, so the ovaries are unaffected, but the uterus can have a spectrum of abnormalities or differences from the normal single uterine cavity. Interestingly, the kidneys develop at…
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This one has a lot of layers, Friends, so strap in! One of the first things to consider is that a hysterectomy is a major surgery and is costly both in a financial sense and with potential risk for complications for the patient. With respect to the financials, the cash price for a hysterectomy…
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Endometriosis is when the tissue of the inner lining of the womb (the endometrium) gets out into the pelvis where it is not supposed to be. There are a couple of theories on how this happens, but we don’t know for sure. Each cycle, the lining of the womb or endometrial tissue becomes thicker…
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Holistic just means care for the whole person—physically, emotionally, and spiritually, but I am going to assume that this question is maybe using the term holistic to refer to non-pharmaceutical methods. Let’s consider some physiology. In general for a normal, healthy couple, there is a 20% chance of conception each month. So we expect…
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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…