Mystic Women's Health Blog

For those of you who have experienced being post-term in your pregnancy, you understand the unique frustration of trying to get your labor going. You’ve put in 9 months of hard work and now you are ready! And uncomfortable. You’ve possibly searched for any home remedies to induce labor, or maybe your friends and family elicited some advice. Let me break down the truth behind some of the old wives’ tales regarding inducing labor. Although not all of these are evidence based, there is physiological reasoning why many OBGYNs and midwives have suggested them in the past. But first, let’s define what “post-dates” mean. A pregnancy is dated 40 weeks. As uncomfortable as those last weeks in pregnancy may be, your baby needs every week of pregnancy to grow both inside and out. Your baby continues to grow and develop, even in the last few weeks of pregnancy. This is why staying pregnant full term gives your baby a healthy start, and also why if you ask Dr. Guthrie for an induction before 4...

I recently took some time off between finishing school and starting my position as a nurse practitioner. I spent 3 weeks with my family who live in the south of Italy. It was the first time I have spent more than 10 days in a row out of work or school in three years. The days before leaving for Italy my life was frantic -wrapping up school, transitioning my position at work, graduation, etc. I landed in Naples exhausted. The next morning I woke up in my grandmother’s house with a sense of lightness and liberty that I hadn’t felt since… well, the last time I was in Italy. As I write this I can already feel my readers rolling their eyes and thinking, “great, another Eat Pray Love blog” or “Of course she’s finding her happiness on the beach with an espresso on a Tuesday.” But that’s not what I’m hoping this blog ends up being. See, I love my American life and being in Italy only makes me more grateful for it. I love to work, I love being busy, I love all of the opportunities attainabl...

I was compelled to write this blog after hearing numerous patients report low sexual desire during GYN visits. If you’re feeling this way in your relationship, you’re not alone.  As I have learned, sexual response is a complex and multifactorial subject and there is no magical libido pill. To fully understand sexual desire, lets start by exploring a common relationship trajectory. A relationship begins filled with passion. You're having sex in the back of the car because you can't even wait to get upstairs kind of passion. Everything you do in the beginning of a relationship revolves around sex. Where you'll go to dinner, what time you'll go dancing, what underwear you'll wear, how many drinks you’ll have… The “honey moon phase” of a relationship is really just synonymous with “when sex wasn’t a guarantee and therefore both parties worked hard for it to happen, and for it to happen well.” The sexual desire in the beginning of a relationship builds from a long...

If I had a family member or friend who was pregnant, or if I personally needed prenatal care, I would want the care given at Mystick Women’s Health. I know this blog already sounds self-boasting, but I think the best indicator of quality of care is “would I personally want to come here” or “would I refer a family member here?” and in the two years that I have been working at MWH, the answer to that question has always been “yes”. Here is what makes our prenatal care unique and leading edge. 1 st  trimester non-invasive genetic testing: Here at MWH all of our patients, regardless of age or risk factors, are offered cell-free fetal DNA testing during their initial prenatal visit (around 10 weeks). Cell-free DNA is the most advanced way to detect early fetal abnormalities through genetic material that is released by the placenta and into the maternal blood circulation. The results are very accurate, the test is non-invasive (blood draw for mom), and if you choose, you can also...

You know the man in My Big Fat Greek Wedding who swears on windex as the cure for everything? That’s how I feel about coconut oil. I first discovered how amazing coconut oil is when I was searching for a lotion. I like to be cognizant about what I put on my body and lotions can be filled with a lot of toxic chemicals. As with foods, it’s important to carefully read the ingredients in lotion, although most of the time we’re not thinking about ingredients, we  just search for what will give us that radiant Jennifer Lopez like skin. Here’s the thing. The skin is a permeable membrane, which means anything that you put on the skin gets absorbed in the body. That is why medications such as the birth control patch works so well in preventing pregnancy. The estrogen and progesterone in the patch gets absorbed through the skin and into the blood system. So it’s important to have the same mindset with lotion, especially if you are putting it over your breast which has thinner and more pe...

The world of gynecology used to vigilantly suggest doing monthly self breast exams. I remember my old nurse practitioner gave me a waterproof calendar with a waterproof pen and I was instructed  to hook it onto my shower head so that every month, one week after my period, I would check off that I did a self breast exam. That calendar never made it to my shower. Like many women, I know the importance of a self breast exam, but I find it hard to incorporate it into a monthly routine. The good news for us is that it is no longer recommended to do a monthly self breast exam. The new school of thought encompasses many more aspects of breast cancer screening and is now termed self-breast awareness.   For this blog post I will break down all the parts of self breast awareness and how to follow the new recommendations for self screening.    Be aware of what increases or decreases your risk for breast cancer. Consuming more than 1 alcoholic drink per day. Alcoho...

The post-partum period is an incredibly joyous time for new parents, but it is also a period of adjustment and healing.  During this time, it is common for new mothers to focus on their newborn, but it’s equally as important for new mothers to take care of themselves. At Mystic Women’s Health we schedule a post-partum visit after 1 week of delivery if you are breastfeeding, after 2 weeks if you had a C-section, and after 6 weeks if you had a vaginal birth. However, in the mean time, it’s important to know what to expect during your post-partum days and to keep in mind when to call for evaluation. Wound Healing Normal: It is normal for vaginal wounds to take a few weeks to heal. Sitz baths can ease vaginal tears and cold packs can help with swelling and pain. Concerning: If your wound is not healing or you notice redness, heat or oozing, this may be a sign of infection and you should contact us for evaluation right away. Baby Blues & Postpartum Depression ...