Role of Obstetrics in Pregnancy and Childbirth
Obstetrics is a specialized branch of medical science that deals exclusively with pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum period. It mainly deals with three major sections, namely,
Prenatal care, childbirth, and postnatal care. They are the primary healthcare provider staffs a maternity hospital must-have. Let’s understand them each in details
Prenatal Care
As the term suggests, it involves care and medication of an expecting mother to help her to carry a safe pregnancy towards a safe childbirth. It is further subdivided into 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimester. The foetal assessment is an important part of the same. It is done by a series of ultrasonography, and if required, amniocentesis.
These routine procedures determine the gestational age of the pregnancy, number of foetus, the position of the baby and the placenta, determining the possibility of an ectopic pregnancy. It is also, a very important tool, to determine the possibility of any congenital abnormalities. It addresses the possible conditions, a patient may suffer during pregnancies such as gestational diabetes, hypercoagulability, high level of the thyroid, and so on.
Childbirth
Duration, risks, and complications associated with labour vary greatly depending upon the type of delivery, and overall health condition of the mother and baby. The obstetrician evaluates the conditions before and during the labour to determine the type (vaginal or caesarean) of delivery each patient needs.
An obstetrician can also induce labour prematurely by various means in case of foetal distress, pre-eclampsia, or any other complications. Some of the complications that need emergency care and often surgical correction are an ectopic pregnancy, placental abruption, pre-eclampsia, uterine rupture, foetal distress, obstetrical haemorrhage, shoulder dystocia, puerperal sepsis, prolapsed cord and so on.
Postnatal Care
The obstetrician also provides medical care to the new mother after labour by looking for signs of any possible injury, infection, oedema, dehydration, bleeding, bladder malfunction or bowel movements. He or she also checks the vital signs like pulse, body temperature, blood pressure etc. before discharge.
It also includes tracking the health of the newborn as well. In case the infant needs special health care, the obstetrician may refer to (or accompany too, depending upon the condition of the newborn) Neonatal Intensive Care Unit as well, where, the neonatologists can carry on.
However, not every pregnancy can be carried out to a safe childbirth, as some might undergo a miscarriage or abortion due to various reasons. Obstetrics assist both these procedures as well. In a nutshell, a well-qualified obstetrics is needed in every aspect of a new life emerging.
ILS Hospitals Has Fully Equipped NICU for Every Critically Ill New Born
A nation’s average performance and its position in the global platform depends on several factors. These factors range from education level, per capita income, gross domestic product, health standards and many more.
However, despite the preventive and corrective measure of the government towards the health and well-being, we all fall sick at some point or the other during the course of our lives. Healthcare industry plays an important role in the same. The ILS Hospitals is one of such healthcare partners who ensure that the citizen of India stay in perfect health so that they can contribute towards the overall productivity of the nation.
Let’s understand the importance of it through a case study of its high-end maternity hospital and NICU.
Mrs. Sangita Mitra, a school teacher of age 32, was expecting twins. She was getting her check-up and medication under an obstetrics close to her residence. He advised her diet and medication and also estimated the due date at 36th week.
Things went smoothly for the first and second trimester. However, during the mid of 29th week, she suddenly felt a sharp pain and contraction. Her family immediately consulted her doctor. He expected it might be a case of a premature delivery. But as he had no access to advanced maternal care and handling premature babies, he recommended them to ILS Hospitals.
When she consulted and scheduled a check up to maternity ward of ILS Hospitals, well-qualified obstetrics admitted her immediately as she was experiencing labor. One of the twins, the baby boy, despite being born prematurely was healthy, but the other baby had certain difficulties. Without wasting precious moments, the doctors admitted the baby to the NICU.
The baby girl was suffering from respiratory trouble along with instability of heart rate. The doctors were present round the clock to keep a track of her vitals and to provide medical care. After 6 weeks, the baby girl was fit enough to be discharged from the NICU. Due to the timely intervention of medical treatment and care, she was saved from long-term complications.
The NICU of ILS Hospitals is highly capable of handling crisis that could threaten the survivability and complications (both long term and short terms) that a premature baby or critically ill baby may face. Round the year, ILS Hospital’s NICU saves lives of numerous babies.
Why Every Elder Patient Need Geriatrics Medicine
An individual goes through several stages of age. In each of them, they require special care and medication. In the usual environment around us, we have comprehended few of them, while neglected other few. For instance, we have fathomed the special need of an individual during its initial years of life and classified as paediatrics domain. However, once they outgrow adolescence, the domain of doctors is classified based on either medical illness.
Thus, this attitude of the society overall, make the geriatrics domain a rather unusual and unheard specialty of medical care. Let’s understand the importance of geriatric medicine.
Geriatrics is a specialty of medical healthcare that involves diagnosis, treatment, and care, particularly for elderly people. It promotes their overall health by treating disabilities and diseases through both corrective and preventive measures. A doctor with specialization in geriatric medicine is known as geriatrician or geriatric physician.
As mentioned above, as soon as an individual is pronounced an adult, they don’t need to consult a paediatrician any longer. In event of any illness, at first a general physician is consulted, upon further diagnosis, they are recommended to doctors having specialization in that particular illness. For eg. Gynaecologist, a gastroenterologist, a dermatologist and so on.
This treatment structure is considered as the standard procedure and rules out any particular need of specialist for elderly patients. This common misconception is prevalent among people, which stop them from seeking geriatric care for elderly patients. However, the need of having a geriatric physician is extremely important particularly for super senior citizens.
Geriatric medicine aims to improve the physical, emotional and mental wellbeing of the elder patient. Its focuses to prevent, to improve and/or to eradicate, conditions that degrade the quality of life. Some of its main goals are to-
- Improve instability
- Improve immobility
- Improve memory, recognition, and intellect
- Improve incontinence
A rather large proportion of super senior citizens often display symptoms of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, which make them vulnerable, similar to kids, who are not always sure about their exact symptoms or forget to mention them or to recollect. Moreover, due to old age, the healing and regenerative properties diminish significantly. Thereby, their treatment and recovery are different from that of an individual in their mid-30s or 40s. Thus the need geriatric physician is irreplaceable and should be acknowledged adequately.
7 Common Types of Pelvic Diseases
There are various and sometimes few fatal issues related to our pelvic organ that might affect our lives. An experienced gynecologist can solve most of these if consulted on time.
The most common pelvis related issues are mentioned in the following points:
1. Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID): PID is a disease that occurs in the female reproductive organs such as the uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, and cervix. It is usually caused due to a sexually transmitted infection (STI) like gonorrhea or chlamydia. PID can also cause serious issues if remained untreated and one might have trouble in getting pregnant or may have persistent pelvic pain throughout.
2. Vulvodynia: Recently, doctors have discovered that pelvic pain may also arise due to muscle tissues and irritation in nerves, which they specifically named as Vulvodynia. It has no definite reason of cause but it might occur due to previous yeast infection, soreness, dehydration, chronic stress, and depression. Pain or burning may be around external vagina walls, G-spot and so forth.
3. Endometriosis: It is a condition where an abnormal endometrial tissue grows in a place outside the uterus. Even this disease have no specific reason for a cause but if not treated may lead to infertility. The pain will occur during intercourse, urination or bowel movements.
4. Primary dysmenorrhea/Menstrual Cramps: Commonly, we are all aware of the cramp during the menstrual periods but if it exists even after 7 days, it is possible that the pain could be also the reason of some other issues. Usually, menstrual cramps occur due to irregular bleeding or spotting.
5. Urinary Incontinence: It is one of the most common pelvic diseases that are found in women and also in men. It is especially found in women. It may happen due to many reasons such as stress incontinence, urge, and overflow, mixed, functional and sometimes gross total incontinence.
6. Pelvic Congestion Syndrome: PCS is one of the common syndrome found among the women under the age of 45 who have gone through 2 or 3 pregnancies. It is very rare in women with no pregnancy record.
7. Infections: The most common type of pelvic disease also includes vaginal infections. There a quite a number of different infections that are faced by the female at least for once in their lifetime. This includes infections such as Yeast infection, Bacterial vaginosis, Trichomonas, etc.
Therefore, these are the few common types of pelvic or vaginal related disease that might trouble a woman’s life. If you show symptoms or is suffering from any of the above-mentioned diseases, feel free consult a certified and highly experienced Gynecologists to provide you the best service with proper guidance.
A Brief Introduction of Breast Cancer
After attaining puberty, a women’s breast develops fat, lobules, connective tissues and glands to produce milk for breastfeeding. After the onset of cancer, the cells keep multiplying uncontrollably and starts spreading after a certain point of time, to its nearby tissues as well. Breast cancer is the most common kind of cancer among women.
Men can be affected by breast cancer as well, though the count is very little as compared to that of women. Several times, the genetics plays an important role towards its prevalence, but many times, the culprit is the sedentary lifestyle. It can be addressed with chemotherapy, radiation therapy or surgical approach.
Types of breast cancer
There are mainly two kinds of breast cancer. Invasive and non-invasive breast cancer. In the prior case, the cancer cell breaks out from the inside of ducts and thus the risk of its spread remains significantly high. The latter condition is the opposite and is termed when the cells remain at the origin of the outbreak. If it is left untreated, over a period of time, it develops into invasive cancer anyways.
Symptoms of breast cancer
The primary symptom of a breast cancer is characterized by the developing either a thick tissue or a lump in the breast or armpit. Secondary symptoms comprise of one or more of the following-
- Pain in the breast or in an armpit, which does correlate with the monthly cycle.
- An inverted or sunken nipple.
- Redness of the breast skin
- Discharge blood or other fluid from the nipple
- Rash on the nipple, or around it
- Change of size or shape of breast irrelevant to the monthly cycle
- Scaling or flaking of the nipple or the breast skin
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Initiative on this world Breast cancer awareness month
On this breast cancer awareness month, we, at ILS Hospitals encourage every woman to step up and seek breast examination at least once annually, to keep the risks of breast cancer at bay. We also, motivate every adult women to learn and practice self-breast examination every three to six month and keep an eye on any growth on the breast or under the armpit. Women with either a personal medical history or family history of previous lumps or cancer are requested to be-be extremely cautious regarding the same. Going for a mammogram is often recommended by a gynaecologist.
Several of the lumps of the breast are not cancerous. However, in case of any doubt, it is best to get it checked by a physician as soon as possible.
What Is Low Birth Weight And Its Main Causes
After a full term of pregnancy, a baby is born with body weight ranging between 2500 to 4200 grams in order to live a normal functional life. However, very often some of these babies are born with exceptionally lesser weight than medically considered as ideal. These babies need critical care and are often kept at special care units of maternity hospitals.
As per World Health Organization, babies having a body weight of 2499 grams or less are considered as low birth weight. This is further subdivided into very low birth weight (having less than 1500 gram) and extremely low birth weight (having less than 1000 grams).
Having a low birth weight puts the baby subjected to developing a wide number of medical complications, both in short term and in long term.
Causes of low birth weight
The low birth weight is either caused due to preterm birth or due to being small for the gestational or environmental factor of the prenatal growth and development.
Preterm birth
The gestational period ideally consists of 37 weeks and any pregnancy than matures before this duration is considered as preterm birth. Being born before the ideal time than the baby is supposed to, results in making the baby susceptible to multiple medical issues and being born with a low birth weight is one of them.
Being small for gestational age
As already mentioned, the gestational duration does play an important role. However, some babies born with low birth weight even with a full term. This happens when the baby is doing full term but is underdeveloped with respect to his or her age. It is often a result of some or the other medical or genetic condition. As any malnourished individual would perform less and will be less immunized, the rules apply same for an infant only to a bigger proportion.
Environmental factors
Several factors such as a young age of mother, previous low birth weight babies, multiple pregnancies, poor nutrition, substance abuse and malnourished prenatal stage etc contribute towards negatively affecting the birth weight of the baby. It also includes exposure to smoke, pollutant air, water, lead and other toxic substances as well.
As already mentioned, the babies having a low birth weight is highly likely to suffer immense adverse health conditions. Thus, every family having an expectant mother is advised to take proper care of the mother and the child in every aspect to ensure a safe pregnancy and healthy child. In case of any doubt, it is always wise to approach a maternity hospital as soon as possible.
10 Period Myths You Need To Bust Right Now
Our lives are all surrounded by myths and opinions. And sadly, the menstrual cycles are not any exception. Sometimes it appears as if common people have more facts regarding periods as compared to the gynecologists in Kolkata.
But, now it’s time to get rid of these myths and know the facts-
#1. Menstrual cycle is of 28 days
It is the average length of the cycle. However, it varies from woman to woman. Only your body can tell your cycle length, not your friends or internet apps.
#2. It is dangerous to wash your head during the cycle
Thank the almighty, it is a myth. Washing your body or hair has neither effect on your flow or length of the period, nor on your health otherwise.
#3. PMS is a myth
If you feel irritated and have mood swing, particularly before having your periods, and resolves soon after it onsets. Chances are that you are suffering from PMS and not bipolar disorder.
#4. You need to take bed rest during periods
It is true that you need rest if you lose a large amount of blood, during periods, though, you lose only a small amount. Though you can take a day off and relax in case of severe cramps, it is not a must-do.
#5. No exercise
Exercise is always good, even during periods. Sometimes, it even helps to soothe the cramps and uplifts the mood.
#6. You can’t get pregnant during the cycle
No gynecologists in Kolkata would give such a non-scientific advice. The chances of pregnancy are related to the ovulation cycle, not the menstrual cycle and thus, conceiving during periods it is quite possible.
#7. Swimming in the ocean is dangerous because it can attract sharks
No, never. Under no circumstances, you are likely to be a potential/favored target for shark biting, if you are swimming while menstruating. It is applicable for bear attack as well.
#8. Proper age of menarche
There is no right age of on-setting the menstrual cycle. Most girls get their periods somewhere between 9 years to 15 years. Often, your cycle begins close to other women’s in your family. But, in case, it does not, even when you or your ward reaches 15, it is better to get a consultation from a gynecologist in Kolkata.
#9. Missing period means you are pregnant for sure.
Just because you are missing your period for a few days or even weeks, sometimes, does not imply you are free to announce the good news. You can skip your cycles even for 2-3 months without a pregnancy. So, be extra sure before celebrating or panicking!
#10. Menstrual blood is not normal blood
Bleeding means loss of blood, no matter the biological location. And there is only one type of blood, the normal blood that rushes through veins.
So, don’t get drift away from facts and stay updated!
Why Infertility In Men Is On The Rise In India Lately?
Having progenies ensure the continuity of the human race on Earth. But lately, several people are coming up with the problem of infertility. Both males and females are suffering from it these days. You can find out the main reason for infertility among women here, for which one should consult a gynecologists.
Though we have one perk regarding potential fatherhood has over motherhood. That is, the age of the father is much less of significance against the age of the mother. This might look like a major advantage. However, the problem of fertility has increased among men alarmingly.
Here are some of the reasons for the same:
Overweight/obesity
Having weight more than one can manage is always harmful for health. Recently, several studies have found a close relation between men being infertile with being obese or immensely overweight. Apart from physical difficulties, the extra weight also negatively affects the fertility factors significantly.
Lifestyle and stress
Following a sedentary lifestyle such as huge consumption of alcohol and other drugs can cause low sperm count. Also, the long working hours and work related stress, effects these factors largely.
Though a skilled gynecologist can trace this problem, it is always advised to seek a doctor’s expertise in handling infertility cases.
UTIs and STDs
Even though the occurrence of UTI in men is much less as compared to female, having a UTI can affect fertility. Especially recurring UTIs possess more severe threats.
Several of the men in both rural and urban regions often gets indulged with multiple partners. No matter how careful one is, this practice can cause STDs. Though, some of the STDs are resolved with medications, while few others have catastrophic results and infertility is one of them.
Prior medical history, includes congenital diseases / sterility
Several diseases that might have affected in prior life may leave some traces of several problems in the future. This includes trauma, hydrocele, mumps, malaria, cryptorchidism, testicular cancer and several other.
Strenuous physical activities and injuries
Numerous physical activities like, bicycling and horseback riding that demand vigorous movements, can also have an adverse effect on the fertility of men. Additionally, sports like cricket, football, wrestling and other martial arts may also increase the risk of any accident that can directly or indirectly cause infertility.
Wearing supportive and protective garments during these activities mitigates the risk up to a large extent. Thus, staying in good health is essential for personal reasons and also for ensuring a safe parenthood.
Why Infertility In Women Is Lately On A Rise In India?
Infertility is a condition of not being capable of conceiving a baby naturally. The problem of infertility is increasing among women in India lately. Know what reasons might be acting as the prime cause for it.
Our children are our future. But nowadays, lots of women are coming up to gynecologists with the problem to conceive a child naturally. Infertility is the medical condition, in which a couple fails to conceive a baby naturally even without any birth control means. The reason for the same could either be due to biological constraints in men, women or a combined factor of both.
The problem in on rise, especially since a past few decades. In fact, a rise of 30-35 percent of infertility has been recorded in the past 10 years.
According to the gynecologists in Kolkata, the following reasons are the prime factor for causing infertility in women-
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Sedentary lifestyle and stress
The consumption of alcohol or smoking regularly can cause an abrupt disturbance of the hormonal balance in the body. Not getting enough amount of a sleep, having persistent stress, spending too much time on TV and other electronic, lack of yoga or physical exercise etc., also comes under the sedentary lifestyle. The environmental pollution that we remain exposed to also act as a factor.
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Being obese or extremely underweight
Having poor nutrition for a long time can either result in being obese or extremely underweight. Though being obese directly does not cause infertility, but it causes hindrance in terms of irregular periods, insulin resistance, sexual incompatibility etc. Being in any of the extreme side of weight zone can cause serious trouble for conceiving.
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Late marriage and family planning
During the past decades, women are more career oriented than they used to be earlier, due to improvement in social and emotional context. These days, most of the educated women aim to establish their professional lives before settling down or having kids. Thus, by the time they are ready to start a family, they cross the threshold age limit and the fertility begins to decline significantly.
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Sexual relationship with multiple partners
The concept of monogamous relations in India is largely getting diluted. These days, several women engage themselves with multiple partners, which leads to sexually transmitted infection and thus the fertility gets affected in a negative way.
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Birth defect or other medical constraints early menopause
Some women are born with a rare medical condition which makes them incapable of bearing any kids naturally. This can either be conditions where the woman is born without a uterus or having sterile reproductive organs.
Practice healthy living, enjoy the happiness of motherhood!
4 Long Term Complications of Preterm Childbirth
Human gestation period, on an average is about 38 to 40 weeks. Though this pregnancy duration may vary a little, but most safe pregnancies fall between this period. Any baby born before completing 37 weeks of pregnancy, is termed as premature baby.
A preterm baby is at high risk of having certain short term as well as long term health issues. While short term complications usually resolve within weeks with the help of medical support, the long term complications possess serious challenges throughout the lifetime of the child. You can find out about the short term complications, here.
So today, we will look out for some of the long term complications of preterm child birth-
- Cerebral palsy – Preterm babies are at risk of developing cerebral palsy, a disorder that disrupts the body movement, posture and muscle tone. It develops either due to infection, injury or inadequate blood flow supply to the baby. This may occur either during pregnancy or since few weeks of birth. Sadly, there is no sure shot cure for the same, but medical treatment can improve the conditions such as muscle spasm significantly. Also, assistive aids such as hearing aids, walking aids and glasses are prescribed for ease of everyday life. In rare cases, surgery is performed in several to improve the mobility.
- Vision impairment– A preterm baby may be prone to acquire a poor vision. The most common disease is the retinopathy, a condition in which the blood vessels grow in the back of the retina. A rare disease called the Retinal detachment, a condition, in which the retina completely gets out of place (i.e. back of the eye) due to swelling of blood vessels, may occur as well. If proper care is not practiced in time, it can result in permanent loss of vision. To aid this, several surgical options like cryosurgery, laser therapy, vitrectomy and scleral buckling are employed.
- Impaired cognitive skills– A premature baby is more susceptible to lag behind in various aspects as compared to the full term babies. This includes learning disabilities and difficulties, especially at school age. This also makes them prone to have several other conditions which result in slow learning and poor memory. Medical treatment should be provided, but the most effective cure is the support and understanding of the parents. Under no circumstances, any such child should be compared with his/her fast learning friends of the class. Remember, every child has his own potential.
Before taking the child home, all the information regarding the baby must be collected from the respective hospital.