Dr Geoffrey Brieger

23/04/2026

Pictured here is a real uterus embeded in a living environment, just behind your belly button.
It is not like the flat diagram found in text books which can create confusion.

The uterus is a muscular, hollow organ in the female pelvis that is approximately 5 cm wide, 8 cm long, and 4 cm thick with a volume of 80 to 200 mL.

A physiologically normal uterus typically lies in a position of anteversion (tilts forward at the cervix) and anteflexion (tilts forward at the isthmus).

The uterus is situated posterior to the bladder, anterior to the re**um, and consists of four anatomical features: the fundus (top), body, isthmus, and cervix.

A uterus will expand 500-1000 times its original size. An increase in estrogen also facilitates the stretching process as the pregnancy progresses.

There are three layers of the uterus. From external to internal:

* Perimetrium: continuous with the peritoneal cavity

* Myometrium: smooth muscle which contracts in childbirth

* Endometrium: consists of a thin base layer (stratum basalis) and a thicker functional layer (stratum functionalis). The stratum functionalis is a highly vascularized mucosal layer that undergoes monthly cyclical changes and is lost during menstruation.

The egg is not passed directly from o***y into the fallopian tube, it's actually released freely first, then swept into fallopian tube's by its fimbriae.

The female body is amazing—pregnancy proves just how strong it is.

26/03/2026

It has been a joy to look after a family over five pregnancies, sharing important milestones along the way. We wish you a wonderful future and look forward to seeing the children grow.

02/03/2026

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21/12/2025

Honouring the victims of the Bondi Beach terrorist attack

The Federal and NSW Governments have declared Sunday 21 December a Day of Reflection to honour the victims of the horrific terrorist attack at Bondi Beach and to stand in solidarity with the Jewish community.

The Day of Reflection will be observed on the final full day of Chanukah, a time traditionally associated with light, faith and resilience, making the loss felt by the Jewish community even more profound.

On Sunday, flags on Australian and NSW Government buildings will be flown at half-mast as a mark of respect for the lives lost and the grief shared across the country.

All Australians share in this grief.

We invite people across the country to light a candle at 6:47pm, exactly one week since the attack unfolded, as a quiet act of remembrance with family, friends or loved ones. We are also asking Australians to observe a minute of silence at 6:47pm.

Download the image to share on social media on Sunday 21 December: www.nsw.gov.au/nsw-government/bondi-beach-attack

21/12/2025

Pregnant skin is more sensitive to the sun and prone to conditions like melasma (dark spots) and sunburn, which can be made worse by UV exposure.

It is best to avoid sunscreens that contain ingredients which can be absorbed into the bloodstream and may act as hormone disruptors.

* Oxybenzone
* Octinoxate
* Homosalate

Apply SPF 30 sunscreen to protect against both UVA and UVB rays sunscreen every two hours

Reapply after swimming or excessive sweating

Consider wearing protective clothing or a one-piece swimsuit to cover the belly and minimize direct sun exposure.

Always seek shade when outdoors

Wear wide-brimmed hats and sunglasses.

Drink plenty of water; overheating and dehydration may cause problems

If you have any specific concerns about skin changes, please see me

11/12/2025

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19/11/2025

Leading health experts across Australia are calling for a national response to an alarming trend emerging among expectant mothers and their babies.

06/11/2025

Scientists discovered something surprising about pregnancy and the brain. A 2017 study in Nature Neuroscience showed that during pregnancy, women lose some grey matter in certain parts of the brain.
These areas help with understanding feelings, reading faces, and noticing social cues. At first this sounds negative, but it may actually be the opposite.
The scientists found that this change did not make mothers weaker. It may make their brains work more efficiently.

Instead of losing ability, the brain becomes more focused.

Mothers may become better at reading their baby's needs, emotions, and signals. This can support bonding and early parent-child connection.
The study followed first-time mothers and fathers. MRI scans were taken before pregnancy and after birth. The fathers' brains stayed the same, but the mothers showed clear changes in gray matter. Researchers explained that "loss of volume does not mean loss of function." One scientist compared it to spring cleaning, when the brain removes what is not needed so communication between neurons becomes stronger.

Some parts of the brain may return to normal size after months, but scientists are still learning if all changes are temporary or long-term.
Pregnancy does not only change the body. It also reshapes the brain to help mothers connect, understand, and care for their babies.

22/10/2025

Melbourne scientists discover breastfeeding protects against breast cancer

For decades, doctors have known women who breastfeed are less likely to develop breast cancer. Now researchers have uncovered why.

18/10/2025

How interesting; the history of the “Apgar” score at delivery which gets tested at 1 minute and then 5 minutes after birth

In 1952, inside a New York City delivery room, a baby was born blue and silent. Doctors hesitated, unsure whether to keep trying. Then a calm voice broke through the panic.
“Let’s score the baby,” said Dr. Virginia Apgar.

That moment changed medicine forever.

Apgar had once dreamed of being a surgeon, but in the 1940s few women were allowed into the operating room. Told that no hospital would hire her, she turned to anesthesiology instead — a decision that would save millions of lives.

Working in Columbia-Presbyterian’s maternity ward, she saw newborns die within minutes of birth because doctors had no system to judge which babies needed help first. So one morning in 1952, she grabbed a pen and paper and designed a five-point test measuring heart rate, breathing, muscle tone, reflex response, and skin color. She called it the Apgar Score.

The idea spread faster than anyone expected. Within a decade, almost every hospital in America was using it. Infant mortality fell sharply. Doctors finally had a language for newborn care — and babies once thought lost were suddenly being saved.

Apgar never stopped pushing forward. She earned a public health degree, joined the March of Dimes, and became a global voice for mothers and infants. When asked how she had thrived in a man’s world, she laughed, “Women are like tea bags — they don’t know how strong they are until they’re in hot water.”

Dr. Virginia Apgar passed away in 1974, but her test still guides every delivery room on Earth. Every two seconds, somewhere in the world, a baby takes its first breath — and someone quietly calls out a number that honors the woman who refused to give up on newborns or on herself.

25/09/2025

Paracetamol use in Pregnancy - Department of Health, Disabilities and Ageing
23 September 2025

Australia’s Chief Medical Officer and the TGA join with other global medicines regulators, leading clinicians and scientists worldwide in rejecting claims regarding the use of paracetamol in pregnancy, and the subsequent risk of development of ADHD or autism in children.

Robust scientific evidence shows no causal link between the use of paracetamol in pregnancy and autism or ADHD, with several large and reliable studies directly contradicting these claims.

Paracetamol remains the recommended treatment option for pain or fever in pregnant women when used as directed. Importantly, untreated fever and pain can pose risks to the unborn baby, highlighting the importance of managing these symptoms with recommended treatment.

Pregnant women should speak to their healthcare professionals if they have questions about any medication during pregnancy.Paracetamol remains pregnancy category A in Australia, meaning that it is considered safe for use in pregnancy when used according to directions in TGA-approved Product Information (PI) and Consumer Medicines Information (CMI) documents.This means that a medicine has been taken by a large number of pregnant women and women of childbearing age without any proven increase in the frequency of malformations or other harmful effects on the fetus having been observed.

As with the use of any medicine during pregnancy, people who are pregnant should seek medical advice tailored to their specific circumstances before taking paracetamol.The TGA is responsible for ensuring the safety, quality and efficacy of medicines on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG), with safety in pregnancy a key consideration for all products on the ARTG.

The TGA undertakes evaluation of clinical, scientific and toxicological data prior to registration of a medicine, and this information is summarised in TGA-approved PI and CMI documents, targeted at healthcare professionals and consumers respectively, to help support safe use of a medicine in the community. These documents include information relating to use of a medicine in pregnancy.The TGA is aware of announcements by the US Administration that use of paracetamol in pregnancy may be associated with an increased risk of autism and ADHD in children, though a causal association has not been established.

TGA advice on medicines in pregnancy is based on rigorous assessment of the best available scientific evidence. Any new evidence that could affect our recommendations would be carefully evaluated by our independent scientific experts.

Whilst there are published articles suggesting an association between maternal paracetamol use and childhood autism, they had methodological limitations. More recent and robust studies have refuted these claims, supporting the weight of other scientific evidence that does not support a causal link between paracetamol and autism or ADHD.

The TGA maintains robust post-market safety surveillance and pharmacovigilance processes for all medicines registered in Australia, including paracetamol. This includes detailed analysis of adverse event reports made by medicine consumers, clinicians and pharmaceutical companies, review of published medical literature, and close liaison with international medicines regulators.

If a safety issue is confirmed prompt regulatory action is taken to mitigate risks.International peer regulators including the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the United Kingdom have reiterated that paracetamol should continue to be used in line with product information documents. Following evaluation in 2019 the European Medicines Agency (EMA) found that scientific evidence regarding effects of paracetamol on childhood neurodevelopment was inconclusive.

People who have concerns and are pregnant, or considering pregnancy, are advised to consult their healthcare professionals in the first instance to discuss this issue.

11/09/2025

According to Science Advances (Pontzer et al., 2019), Duke University Global Health Institute, scientists found that CARRYING A BABY REQUIRES 2.2 TIMES MORE ENERGY THAN RUNNING A MARATHON EVERY DAY FOR NINE MONTHS!

A pregnant body is pushed to its absolute metabolic limit - more than most extreme athletes competing in an endurance event.

Pregnancy is truly amazing