Some people will debate whether too much of a good thing is a good thing. We say yes, it’s especially a good thing when talking about screening for high-risk breast cancer. It is recommended that women with a high breast cancer risk screen for breast cancer earlier and more often than women with a normal breast cancer risk. For those women with a high breast cancer risk, when should you begin screening?
Continue reading “High Breast Cancer Risk: When to Begin Screening”
Your dream is finally coming true. You are pregnant! Once you come back down to earth and calm down, it’s time to start planning your first prenatal visit. Here’s everything you should know.
Continue reading “Your First Prenatal Visit: Everything You Should Know”
When you are having a baby, there are many scenarios that go through your mind. What will the child look like? Will they have my eyes or my partner’s smile? Is it a boy or a girl? These are among the many happy possibilities parents consider, but many future parents are concerned about the more serious prospects like whether their child will be born with certain conditions or birth defects. What is non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) and how does it work?
Non-invasive prenatal testing, or NIPT, is a safe screening test to determine if your developing child has risks for conditions like chromosomal disorders or genetic conditions like Do
wn Syndrome. It is a screening test. It does not diagnose the condition. If the results show an elevated risk then further testing can be done. The mother can have the test beginning at 10 weeks of pregnancy.
NIPT is done by taking a sample of the mother’s blood which has fragments of DNA from the baby. This is also known as cell-free DNA or cfDNA screening.
Having this test is purely optional, and there is no risk to the baby like some more invasive diagnostic tests. As a bonus, you can find out early the sex of your child instead of waiting for the 20-week ultrasound.
Women’s Care may recommend having an NIPT performed if the pregnancy is considered high risk for a chromosomal abnormality. That can include the following:
Any woman, no matter her age, can have a baby with birth defects, and that’s why many women decide to have the non-invasive test.
However, a woman with a high-risk pregnancy may not want the test because the parents have already decided it won’t matter. They will continue with the pregnancy.
The test is not 100% foolproof. The detection rate for Trisomy 21 (Down’s Syndrome) is 99%. Although it is rare, you can get a false positive or a false negative. Talk with our experienced OBGYNs in Overland Park, KS if you have any questions or concerns you may have before, during, or after NIPT.
Parents can consider moving to a diagnostic test if they wish more clarity after NIPT.
Contact Women’s Care at (913) 384-4990 if you want to discuss the value of a non-invasive prenatal test if you have a low-risk pregnancy.
Name something better than curing cancer? The answer is never getting cancer in the first place. It has been discovered that removing the fallopian tubes may prevent the development of ovarian cancer. Let’s take a deeper dive into tubal ligation vs. salpingectomy and which is best.
Salpingectomy is the surgical removal of both fallopian tubes. The fallopian tubes are the tunnel through which eggs move from the ovaries to the uterus for implantation. This surgery can be performed simultaneously with other abdominal surgeries like removing the gallbladder. This is known as opportunistic salpingectomy.
There are several reasons a salpingectomy be recommended by your doctor, including:
This would be recommended if you have an ectopic pregnancy. This is when a fertilized egg is growing outside the uterus. It cannot successfully grow and eventually the fallopian tubes will rupture causing life-threatening bleeding.
Another common reason is for permanent birth control.
Tubal ligation is known colloquially as having your tubes tied, in which your doctor clamps or ties the fallopian tubes closed preventing pregnancy.
While both tubal ligation and salpingectomy are effective in preventing pregnancy, recently it has been found that salpingectomy has the benefit of ovarian cancer prevention.
There is no definitive way to prevent ovarian cancer, but there are now ways to lower the risk. It was thought ovarian cancer began in the ovaries, but research has recently shown that some forms of cancer actually can start in the fallopian tubes via the projections at the end of the tubes. The cancer cells then spread to the ovaries and also to the peritoneum, the tissue surrounding the organs in the abdomen.
If a woman has completed her family or wants no more children, she can have her fallopian tubes removed. A woman who has a higher risk of ovarian cancer can also have her ovaries removed at the same time. This will necessarily bring on menopause. The decision should be made in consultation with your provider at Women’s Care. Having fallopian tubes removed is becoming the standard of care for women aged 35 to 50 who do not want any, or more, children.
The bottom line is that salpingectomy is recommended for all women regardless of their risk factors for developing ovarian cancer. All women can benefit.
Women who have average risks and no genetic abnormalities are recommended to have an opportunistic salpingectomy to decrease the risk of developing ovarian cancer.
There is ongoing research as to whether just removing the fallopian tubes will prevent ovarian cancer for those with a higher risk.
Contact Women’s Care OBGYN at (913) 384-4990 to schedule a consultation to discuss salpingectomy at one of our offices in Overland Park and Shawnee Mission.
You have accomplished a miraculous thing. You grew a baby inside your body for nine months, and then gave birth to a healthy new human being. Think about that! Yes, millions of women have done that for centuries, but now you did it. Take a breath and settle into an entirely new life by practicing self care after giving birth.
Women’s Care is closely following the most up-to-date announcements and information on the known cases of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Because this information is always changing, we will be monitoring all updates from the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control.
If you are experiencing a fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath, persistent chest pain or pressure, any other COVID Coronavirus or flu symptoms, or had COVID exposure, please make sure to contact us via phone prior to your appointment. You may also contact us for any additional questions by calling our office at (913) 384-4990. We are accepting appointments, however we are currently not allowing guests with the exception of ONLY allowing ONE guest for patients’ new OB visit and ultrasound, 20 week anatomy ultrasound, and 3D ultrasound. Infants and children are not allowed into our office at this time.
Here are a few additional resources as well:
We appreciate your patience during this time, look forward to continuing to serve our community!
Please be advised that Women’s Care OBGYN will feature special holiday hours at both of our office locations.
These days we hear about super foods for this and super foods for that. There is one group of super foods you shouldn’t ignore though, and those are designated for expectant moms.
