5 Most Common Gynecological Disorders
Living with a healthy body and a sound mind is more like a wishful thinking than a reality. There are many illnesses that affect both the genders, but a lot of medical conditions affects the health of women exclusively. Here we present 5 common illnesses, listed by Gynaecologists, that are most prevalent among women.
1. Dysmenorrhea
It is familiar to women as the painful periods. It is often termed the same when the pain reaches to the extent that it interferes the daily life activities. It is of 2 types. The primary dysmenorrhea is a result of disrupted ovulation and menstrual cycle. The secondary dysmenorrhea occurs as a result of some other underlying pelvic illnesses, infections or placement of certain contraceptive means such as copper T etc.
2. PCOS
It stands for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and is most prevalent among young women these days. It results in the formation of one or more, often recurring cysts in the ovary. It is due to high hormone production from the ovary and majorly caused by unhealthy lifestyle and stress rather than the influence of family or personal history.
3. Amenorrhea
It is the medical term for the absence of periods in the reproductive age. It is of two types, namely the pathological and physiological. During the pathological amenorrhea, the reason is due to some underlying disease or complications. The physiological Amenorrhea, on the other hand, is termed before the onset of menarche, after menopause and during pregnancy and lactation.
4. Vaginitis
It is the condition that onset due to inflammation and infection in the vagina. It is often seen among young girls having a high rate of infection, usually due to low production of oestrogen. However, it is also found in women of reproductive age group having infections due to microscopic organisms.
5. Fibroids
It is the condition of having single or multiple tumors in the uterus. It is the most common tumor in the female body. Fortunately, most of them are non-malignant is nature and does not cause any threat to the life of the patient. However, it might cause associated conditions like painful menstruation, persistent miscarriages, pelvic diseases, preterm labors etc. Often it is addressed by surgery, depending upon the nature of the tumor.
On this International Women Day’s, we, at ILS Hospitals, encourage every woman out there to take care of their body and seek medical help of gynecologists in time of need.
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.
Conditions Related to High- Risk Pregnancy
What is a high-risk Pregnancy?
A high-risk pregnancy is a fatal condition during pregnancy or by the end of the pregnancy where the mother or the fetus may face complications during or after the birth. Women with pre-pregnancy complication face many health issues and risks than the women with no pre-pregnancy complication. Although, rarely, few healthy women may also face some problems which can be fatal in nature. Only the advanced maternity hospitals are capable of handling these crisis cases.
The various complications that arise post pregnancy are listed below:
Gestational diabetes: Also known as gestational diabetes mellitus. This may be the first complication that women may face post pregnancy. After conforming pregnant many women get obsessed with their diet. They start overeating which increases the sugar level in the blood. A healthy and proper diet may help in avoiding and retarding the same. If neglected it can lead to fatal conditions such as premature labor and high blood pressure and so on.
Preeclampsia: It is a condition which appears by or after the 20th week, where the level of blood pressure increases causing the mother to fall sick. It can affect mother’s kidney, liver, and brain. If it remained untreated for long can result in fatal complication for the mother and also the fetus.
Eclampsia: It is a severe complication. Actually, it is another form or last stage of Preeclampsia that causes the mother to have a complicated seizure or worse, a coma. Regular health check-ups may avoid these complications.
Preterm Labor: As the term suggests, here the labor is held before the 37th week. The causes behind this complication could be multiple fetuses, cervix abnormality or infections or previous premature labor. Another reason behind this condition could be conceiving after the age of 35.
Placenta Previa: It is one of the rare but severe complication that a mother might face which shows symptoms in the mid-trimester. It is a condition where the placenta-cover the cervix partially or wholly. It is dangerous because when the cervix dilates and uterus expands can cause damage to the placenta resulting in painless vaginal bleeding or worse hemorrhage.
No matter what the complication is, if discovered by the initial, can be treated fearlessly. So, why to wait till it turns worse. If you are conceiving, get a regular checkup from any of the advanced maternity hospitals established in all over India.
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.
Why Prenatal Care is Crucial for the Wellbeing of a Baby?
Children are the future of any nation. But while taking care of the unborn, the health and wellbeing of the mother often skips the mind of people, especially in location with minimum exposure to maternity care. Several women suffer infection, miscarriage and even death. To address this problem Maternity Hospitals are making an effort to provide the best prenatal care along with childbirth assistance.
What must be done?
Since prenatal care is the most important aspect of maternal health, it is advised to receive atleast a minimum of four visits on antenatal care. The prenatal care centers provide basic and primary information related to pregnancy, such as any possible infection, ideal weight or anemia along with monitoring the growth of the fetus. It also includes a detailed information regarding the hygiene and nutrition to help them sustain a safe pregnancy along with the necessary guidelines to follow in case any emergency arises.
Since the baby’s nutrition is solely based on the nutrition received by the mother, nutrition and care of the mother is the most important factor. Thus, nutrition such as vitamins, minerals and proteins must be provided in adequate amount.
What must be avoided?
Over the counter medications, especially painkillers can cause more harm than relief in a long run. Smoking, drinking alcohol, or taking drugs during pregnancy can cause some serious damage to the growing embryo. The babies born with such history often have low birth weight.
By looking at the statistics of obesity in India, it might not sound like some major threat, but it can cause physical and emotional abnormalities such as defective limbs, heart, and face along with sudden infant death, neonatal death and intellectual disability.
What must be watched out for?
The most common issue related to maternity is gestational diabetes. It is advised to get constant supervision and medication for the same from a reliable Maternity Hospitals. Ignorance can cause the baby to develop diabetes Type 2 from an early age.
Another threat that a baby is exposed during pregnancy is the infection of HIV/AIDS. In case the mother is HIV positive, much care and caution is needed to avert the worst case scenario of the baby getting infected as well.
Any maternal stress experienced by the mother can cause direct and indirect damage to the baby and thus the close friends and relative should take extra caution for the same.
Why Taking Care of Surgical Wound is Essential and How to Do it?
In today’s disease-stricken world, every individual undergoes at least one surgery in his lifetime. Some have to make round trips to the operation theaters multiple times in their lifetime for the surgical treatment for diseases of several domains.
The surgical wounds are the spots on the body where the incisions are made to carry out the surgery. Hospitals these days use the laparoscopic surgery to minimize the area required to make the surgical cut. But no matter the size of the wound, infection can still be imminent, if proper care is not practiced.
The skin starts to heal on its own within a day or two post operation. This varies from person to person depending on the overall health condition and type of surgical procedure. Closing the cut with clips or stitches enhances the healing process significantly.
The size and the sensitivity of the incision depends upon the type of disease and its surgery. The wound can be closed either with clips, stitches or surgical glue, depending upon the size, location and the intensity of the bonding needed by the cut.
In case the surgery was a minor one and the doctors have used surgical glue, it is the best alternative one can imagine. In case, it is the dissolvable stitches, the work of patient becomes comparatively easy. But in case it is the non-dissolvable stitches, clips or staples, much more caution and care is needed to ensure sterility. Clips, stapler and stitches are removed by the doctor or a skilled nurse after 3 to 15 days after the surgical procedure.
What to do to ensure everything is alright?
Keeping the wound covered all the times ensures that the wound does not get contaminated with environmental pathogens. A covered wound is likely to heal three times quicker as compared to uncovered wounds. Use of antibiotic cream is also recommended, this further diminishes the risk of infection up to 18 percent.
Keeping the wound out of any contact with water is very vital, especially for the first 24 hours. Usually dressing for a major surgery is usually recommended to carry out by a professional. However, sometimes the patient himself might need to address it personally.
Removing any fluid coming out of the wound and keeping it dry is the optimal condition for healing. It reduces the overall risk of infection. Sometimes, exerting some pressure to the wound might also be needed to keep the stitch intact.
7 Early Signs of Pregnancy That You Shouldn’t Overlook
Long before your gynecologist confirms you the sign of two, your body gives you ample amounts of signs in its own way. Since pregnancy involves lots of physical, mental and psychological changes in the body. Keeping track of such changes can help you realize that you are expecting. However, not all women necessarily need to experience these, but the most common symptoms of early pregnancy are as follows-
Missing Periods
If you are missing your periods, it could mean either you are under a lot of stress, not having enough nutrients or you won’t be having it for the next nine months as well. The reason being, as the baby starts to develop, the menstrual blood would instead help the baby grow.
According to gynecologists, several women get confused about its actual cause and ignore it.
Tender Breasts
It is normal for breasts to be a little tender or feel painful while menstruating. But having sore breasts and darkening of nipples could be yet another sign of pregnancy. The hormonal change caused by the implantation of the embryo is the prime reason for the same.
Frequent Urination
Urinary tract infection can cause you to use the restroom more than normal, but frequent urination is also a sign of pregnancy as the growing embryo puts extra pressure on the bladder and makes you urinate every now and then.
Vaginal Discharge
It is also known as implantation spotting and is a common sign experienced by most of the pregnant women during the initial weeks of pregnancy. In fact, several of the women keep on having it until the second trimester. You can recognize it by having vaginal discharge and spotting.
Morning Sickness
If you are feeling dizzy, out of focus and nauseated, it could indicate that you are expecting. Several women find it more uncomfortable, especially in the morning and it becomes bearable throughout the day. Thus, deriving the name morning sickness. But it is a misnomer as it can onset at any time of the day and can last up to an entire day.
Feeling Exhausted
Feeling tired or exhausted even without doing any heavy work, it’s yet another symptom of the same. Especially if a good night’s sleep makes no significant changes.
Unexplainable Cravings
If you experience a craving for some particular food which you normally don’t, there is a possibility that you are being driven towards certain smells and taste. It is quite common during pregnancy.
If you feel any of these signs, then it could be an indication of pregnancy. To know for sure, you can either get a home pregnancy test or consult a gynecologist.
4 Short Term Complications Associated with Preterm Childbirth – Part II
The ideal time is essential for everything and for a very good reason, pregnancy period is no exception. Any baby born before completing 37 weeks of pregnancy suffers several long term as well as short term complications. We have discussed four of the more common short term complications suffered by a preterm baby earlier; and in this article, we will continue with four more such complications. So, here we go!
1. Blood profile troubles– Preterm babies are at risk of several abnormalities regarding their blood profile. Anemia and infant jaundice are two of the major concerns. In case of anemia, the red blood corpuscles (RBC) in the body drop significantly. Though it is not uncommon for babies to suffer from low rate of RBC during the initial months, but it becomes critical in case the count drops significantly. Repetitive blood taken out for carrying out lab tests also acts as a contributing factor for the same.
Infant jaundice is the condition characterized by discoloration and yellowing of skin and eye of newborn. This condition arises when the blood of the baby contains too much bilirubin (yellow pigmented substance) secreted from the liver or RBC.
2. Weak immune system– Due to the fact that a baby is born before it was ideally supposed to, the preemies are born with an underdeveloped immune system as compared to the baby born on time. Thus, they cannot cope up with infections effectively, which is quite common in that period. With less-effective immune system, the infection quickly spreads through the bloodstream and may lead to life threatening situations.
3. Gastrointestinal problems – A preterm baby is more susceptible to have an under-developed gastrointestinal system. This causes several associated complications like necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC). In this condition, the linings of the bowel wall gets injured, as soon as the baby starts feeding. For this reason, it is recommended to only breastfeed till six months to lower the risks of NEC.
4. Metabolism problems – As soon as the baby is in the world and begins to feed, the importance of metabolic system comes into play. Preemies are likely to suffer from metabolic issues. The prime cause is, that the liver of a preterm baby cannot effectively convert the stored glycogen into glucose.
ILS Hospitals offers extensive care for preterm babies, until the time they become healthy enough to sustain on their own.
Maternity – Pre Term Birth: 4 Short-Term Complications of Preterm Birth
The normal gestation period is 260 to 280 days, ideally consisting of 40 weeks. Though several babies are born prior to this time period, if any baby is born before this duration, he/she is referred as a premature baby. If a baby is born before 37 weeks of pregnancy, the baby is prone to short term as well as long term health complications. Generally, they do need more care and hospital stay as compared to the ones born in ideal time.
Most of the babies born early possess low birth weight, which plays an important role in several aspects. While some of the complications may exist since the birth, others may develop later in life.
The following complications are experienced during the first few weeks/months of birth-
- Breathing complication- Due to the presence of an immature respiratory system, a premature baby may experience trouble in breathing. This is primarily due to lack of a substance called ‘surfactant’, which enables contraction and expansion, which enables breathing.Preterm babies may also acquire ‘Broncho-Pulmonary Dysplasia’, chronic lung disease and ‘apnea’ which result is difficulty breathing with prolonged pauses.
- Brain malfunction– A preterm baby is highly prone to intra-ventricular hemorrhage, the rupture and bleeding of an artery in the brain. Though most of them gets resolved on its own, some babies need medical help. Excessive bleeding can cause permanent brain damage.
Excessive bleeding can also lead to hydrocephalus, i.e. accumulation of fluid in the brain, for which surgery remains the only feasible solution to release the fluid accumulation. - Cardiac ailments– Patent Ductus Arterious (PDA) and Hypotension (low blood pressure) are the two most experienced heart problems among preterm babies. PDA is a disease in which a natural opening exists between two major blood vessels from the heart.PDA often gets corrected on its own, but if it is left untreated, it can result in uncontrolled blood flow and eventually leads to heart attack. Low blood pressure needs medicines and intravenous support and occasionally blood transfusion.
- Thermo regulation problem– A preterm baby may lose body heat quickly, as he cannot produce an adequate amount of heat to keep balanced heat. The prime reason for the same being, the baby’s body lacks adequate amount of fat to regulate ideal temperature. If the temperature falls beyond a limit, it can result in hypothermia.This condition does not come alone and brings several other problems, including low blood sugar and breathing troubles. The baby’s body tends to use all energy from breastfeeding to staying warm, and thus it does not help to grow. This is the prime reason, why preterm babies are kept in an incubator, until they can deal with the external environment on their own.
Check out 4 more short term complication of preterm birth here.