by Kristi | Dec 19, 2015 | birth stories, Ob-Gyn, Pregnancy |
This week, I heard the best birth plan EVER. But first, let me preface this with my spiel I give every pregnant lady who asks about birth plans or my take on their delivery. I tell them: It’s your body, your baby, your delivery. My job is to keep you both safe and explain everything along the way. You can do whatever you want, as permitted by state law. My one rule is you get an IV placed. You don’t have to use it, you just need to have it in case you hemorrhage or get sick fast and we need it. You can eat, walk, monitor or not, have cervical checks or not, be induced (39+w) or wait for labor, go medication free or get your epidural as soon as you hit the door, you can be in whatever position that suits you, delay cord clamping, have immediate skin to skin, breastfeed, bottle-feed, use a paci, opt for an elective CS if you listen to my rationale for why it can be a bad idea- because it’s your deal. You can have no birth plan or a 10 page birth plan, as long as you know that all good plans can go to shit and the Murphy’s joke is Birth Plan = CS. I will tell you what I recommend and what I don’t and why. We’ll discuss it all as it comes up. If we don’t see eye to eye on something major, we’ll bring in someone else to weigh in. That being said, the best birth plan EVER: “My clients ask me about my birth plan...
by Kristi | Aug 18, 2015 | Gynecology, Ob-Gyn |
Vaginal discharge: Is it normal? Why does the vagina have ooey gooey weird stuff come out of it? Vast majority of the time, it’s normal. Why? Think of your vagina like your nose or mouth. Both places make moisture: the mouth makes saliva and our noses make mucus. The vagina and cervix do the same thing, but they are hanging upside down and you can’t swallow or sniffle to adjust the discharge. Normal discharge can be clear, white, grey, cream colored, blood tinged, brown, maroon, or even have a yellow/green hue to it. It can vary in how it smells from odorless, to pungent, to metallic depending on where you are in your cycle. How do you know if it’s NOT normal? The take home message is this: If you ever notice discharge that’s really unusual, smells terrible, or is associated with notable, persistent pain, irritation, itching, painful sex, see your doctor so they can verify what’s going on. Here are the simplified nuts and bolts: Does the vaginal discharge smell like really, REALLY strong fish? Does this smell & discharge increase after sex or your period? If yes- it could be a simple bacterial imbalance called bacterial vaginosis (BV). This is not a sexually transmitted infection (STI). It’s fixable with an antibiotic that rebalances the bacteria in the vagina. Does it itch? Does it really, really itch- as in- it’s difficult to leave the house for fear of itching your labia or vagina? If yes, it could be a yeast infection, but the only way to know for sure is to visit your Dr. This is...
by Kristi | Aug 5, 2015 | Gynecology, Ob-Gyn |
If you’ve been with me for a while, you know I’m passionate about Pap smears. (Yes, I know this statement would sound really strange proclaimed by anyone outside of women’s health.) In my daily work, I run into many misconceptions about Pap smears. So, today, let’s dive into a few of them. The Pap smear is synonymous with a woman’s yearly exam. In the office, I talk about pap smears an average of 27.8 times a day, for a total of 2h and 5 min per weekday. Or perhaps, I spend my entire day talking about them. I lose track. I joke because somedays, I feel like ALL I do is talk about Pap smears. It is one of the topics my patients and I discuss frequently, because in the last 10 years, there have been many fundamental changes surrounding the rationale behind how often we do them and thus, there’s, understandably, a lot of confusion and many misconceptions. This confusion stems from the fact that although our knowledge about the utility of the Pap smear has changed dramatically, this doesn’t always equate to how doctors practice or to how people think about their visit to the gynecologist. I want everyone here to have a rock solid understanding of what a Pap does and what a Pap does not do. All this to say, if you’re on the up and up with the 2012 and beyond guidelines, you can skip this entire note and jump on over to Facebook where we can chit chat about cute cat videos or period humor. If you’re not, stick with me. Did you know that most of us should not get yearly Pap Smears? Now,...
by Kristi | Mar 1, 2015 | birth stories, Ob-Gyn, Pregnancy |
Here’s the premier post to this column about birth stories. It details the difficult C-section experience and recovery for a mom who is also a nurse. What follows is the story and then my direct reply to the author. All names of included people have been altered or omitted for privacy reasons. The story: When I responded to the c-section article you asked for my son’s story. It has taken me a while to get it together, but here it is. My husband and I tried for 4 years and had 3 losses. When we found out [this pregnancy] was viable we were over the moon. I had always had an idea of how I wanted delivery to go. I wanted an unmedicated delivery and immediate skin to skin. At 28 weeks I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I was very strict with my diet and exercise. I only gained 9 pounds during my pregnancy. At about 30 weeks both my primary OB and the MFM (maternal fetal medicine) doctors started telling me [my baby] was macrosomic. My primary OB started pushing me to do a lung maturity and deliver at 35 weeks. I was determined to keep him in until term. At my 38 week appointment my primary OB told me my baby weighed 4200g. She sat down in front of me and told me an induction would be dangerous. She told me it wasn’t safe for me to stay pregnant. “It would be a real shame if after all you have been through he had a dystocia (baby’s shoulder getting stuck at the time of vaginal...
by Kristi | Feb 18, 2015 | birth stories, Ob-Gyn, Pregnancy |
So, I hear lots of pregnancy and delivery stories. Lots. Some are beautiful. Some are fraught with disappointment. Some are heartbreaking. Some are so intensely inspiring. I’m starting a standing series on the blog where I feature a pregnancy/delivery/postpartum story from you. They will be shared anonymously and only with the explicit permission of the author. If there are any take home lessons or experiences that warrant commentary, I’ll add my two cents with the hope that hearing a little something extra will be helpful. If you would like to share your birth story, send it in to kristiangevineMD at gmail Thank you in advance! Kristi {Due to the volume of stories I currently receive, not every one will be able to be...
by Kristi | Jan 21, 2015 | Gynecology, Ob-Gyn |
The top 4 questions about birth control pills are: 1. Is it normal for my periods to go away or be really light when taking birth control pills? 2. I’ve heard birth control pills can make you infertile…is this true? 3. Will I gain weight on them? 4. Wasn’t Yaz recalled? Let’s dive right in: 1. Is it normal for my periods to go away or be really light? Yes! One of the most common side effects to birth control pills is light or absent periods. This often freaks people out if they don’t know to expect it, but please know, it’s totally normal. The reason behind why this happens helps it make sense. When you’re not on birth control pills, if you normally have a period monthly, then prior to your period, your body has this rise and fall of a few different hormones that prep your body to release an egg from your ovary near the middle of your cycle. This rise and fall pattern of hormones makes a lining of tissue in the uterus build up in preparation for a pregnancy. I like to think of it as if the tissue is building up layers that an embryo will burrow into if you were to get pregnant. These layers of extra tissue build gradually and if at the end of your cycle, you haven’t gotten pregnant, this tissue sloughs off and comes out the blood you see during your period. When on birth control pills, you’re taking in the same amount of hormone every day in the form of the pill. The pills work by telling...
I am an Ob/Gyn and I love helping people really, truly understand their bodies and live healthy lives. I believe true wellness comes from more than just a pill. When not working I love to mountain bike, cook, learn to sew, and go on adventures with my husband and our daughter.