Spring Mountains Acupuncture, Fertility and Wellness

01/16/2025

Disturbing. The rates of cancer in women under 50 are rising the fastest. Young women are not getting pap smears the way they should, leading to an increase in cervical cancer which is easily treated. The increase in va**ng is a likely cause of increases in lung cancer. And heavy drinking or binge drinking is increasing the rates of breast cancer.

This is a gift article.

"Six of the 10 most common cancers are on the rise, including cancers of the breast and the uterus. Also on the rise are colorectal cancers among people under 65, as well as prostate cancer, melanoma and pancreatic cancer.

“These unfavorable trends are tipped toward women,” said Rebecca L. Siegel, an epidemiologist with the American Cancer Society and the report’s first author."

Cancer’s New Face: Younger and Female

Although long considered a disease of aging, certain cancers are turning up more often in younger women, according to a new report.

08/16/2024

A new self swab method for doing a pap smear arrives in doctor's offices this fall. It's not painful and is as effective as a pap smear for detecting cervical cancer. Finally!

An Alternative to the Pap Smear Is Here, No Speculum Required

Starting this fall, women will be able to use a simple swab to screen for cervical cancer. The method offers an alternative to a procedure that many dread — and promises to address disparities in who develops the disease.

03/08/2024

I'm back in the video biz! Friday March 8 my new video looking at research on antidepressants and fertility will drop on Youtube. Here's the link. Please like and share on FB; subscribe to my channel on YT!

https://youtu.be/SnIwT4ElhtY

01/07/2024

The NYT publish an article on maternal mortality, and the rate postpartum is much higher than anybody expected. I can't figure out how to share the article here, sorry. But the upshot is once you give birth you should be seen by your doctor two to three weeks after the birth, not 6 weeks.

If you have a history of clotting, high blood pressure, or heart issues, or a family history of high blood pressure or heart issues, it is important to continue to monitor for the first year after birth. Strokes and other complications are a possibility.

What to do to prevent issues? Monitor your blood pressure every few days for the first 3 months, and then keep an eye on it once a week for the first year is my recommendation if you have a history of high blood pressure or heart issues.

If you have a history of clotting issues, talk to your doctor about what you can do.

Except:


"The leading causes of maternal mortality among white and Hispanic women are mental health conditions that lead to su***de or fatal overdoses. Among Asian women, the leading cause is hemorrhage.

Among Black women like Ms. Willis-Prater, heart conditions were the leading cause of death. High blood pressure, a predisposing factor, is more common among Black women, and they more often have poor access to health care, a legacy of both poverty and racism.

The risk of later maternal death — from six weeks to a year after delivery — is 3.5 times higher among Black women, compared with that among white women......

Once the baby is born, the uterus shrinks, and blood pressure may rise, which can prompt a stroke.

New mothers also are more likely to experience life-threatening blood clots and infections. At the same time, hormonal changes may lead to mood fluctuations. Some of these are transient, but more severe, longer-lasting postpartum depression may also develop.

Though most women survive pregnancy-related complications after childbirth, prompt medical care is critical....

Among white women, mental health conditions are responsible for 35 percent of pregnancy-related deaths, according to C.D.C. data. Among Hispanic women, the figure is 24 percent. Pre-existing anxiety or depression may leave women vulnerable to postpartum depression, as can a difficult pregnancy or having a sick baby...."

Remember that during pregnancy, your body just did the most difficult and stressful physical thing it will ever do, short of being an Olympic athlete. You also have to recover from the pregnancy, and need to pay attention to your body and needs also. Taking care of the baby is overwhelming, but do not forget yourself in the process.

05/30/2023

Yup.

05/28/2023

Important info on Post Partum care and cautions.

Complications After Delivery: What Women Need to Know

New mothers are at risk for up to a year, research has shown. But the first six weeks are the most perilous.

05/28/2023

Finally, acknowledgment that women need post partum care too.
Gift link. See the related FAQ too.

Maternity’s Most Dangerous Time: After New Mothers Come Home

Recent research shows that most pregnancy-related deaths occur in the year after a baby is born. The discovery is changing how doctors care for new mothers.

05/13/2023

Happy working hard to be a mother day!!

This is what 10 cm dilated looks like. Get your mother something nice this weekend.

05/04/2023

Ultraprocessed food is bad for you. Science is starting to figure out why.

Tl;Dr: eat real food.

Eating packaged foods like cereal and frozen meals has been associated with anxiety, depression and cognitive decline. Scientists are still piecing together why.

04/13/2023

All that rain brought beauty!

With historic wet winter firmly in California’s rearview mirror, many are flocking to state parks to glimpse the spectacular superbloom. Many wildflowers have sprouted all at once, providing …

03/30/2023

At the Spotlight event learning about some new functional tests.

03/16/2023

Covid during pregnancy increases the risk of hospitalization and death. Vaccination, social distancing, all of the measures we've gotten used to over the past 3 years are protective for mother and baby.

A pregnant woman is more likely to develop serious Covid-19 and to die of it. Several factors amplify the risks.

02/25/2023

Excellent guide on embryo grading and what it means.

A guide to explain embryo grading and success rates for day 3 and day 5 (blastocysts) and why grading isn't everything, packed with embryo pictures to help!

02/25/2023

A quick primer/reminder on chemicals that are bad for you and fertility.

Many Personal Care Products Contain Harmful Chemicals. Here’s What to Do About It.

Take these small steps to lower your exposure.

02/09/2023

Throwback Thursday from a while back whike studying for my boards:

Another fun fact. The half-life of GnRH is only 2 to 4 minutes. Control of the reproductive cycle therefore depends on the constant release of GnRH. And that's what that one review class I took meant by pulsing GnRH. The feedback loops determine how much of the GnRH is released, creating a graph of pulses. If the pulses change in amplitude, frequency, or any other parameter, there's a problem.

**And** the signals controlling GnRH secretion are modified through neurotransmitters, including norepinephrine, endorphins, serotonin and melatonin. If you're stressed out, neurotransmitters aren't don't respond/secrete normally, and therefore you get effects on the secretion of GnRH. Which is why acupuncture works in terms of calming things down in the HPA axis and improving fertility. Can I go home now, I think I learned everything I need to know!

01/30/2023

Fascinating and helpful. Taking more than 3 weeks off means you have a dramatic decrease in your muscle energy level. So if you have an injury or illness and get sidelined for a while, remember that you cannot jump back in at your previous workout levels, you need to rehab!

We all stray from exercise sometimes. Here’s how your body will bounce back

01/25/2023

😂😂😂😂👍👍👍