Pregnancy is a natural process and an important life experience. My hope is not only to provide useful information, but also to help you feel affirmed, empowered, and reassured. http://health.yahoo.com/experts/ Tue, 24 Jun 2008 21:58:35 -0800 Yahoo! http://health.yahoo.com/experts/pregnancy/3532/good-bye-from-mother-birth/ Well all good things must come to an end, and Yahoo! has decided to discontinue this pregnancy health blog. I want to thank everyone who has commented (the good and the critical -- because the feedback was helpful) and also those who just read and enjoyed what I had to say. Tue, 24 Jun 2008 21:58:35 -0800 Marjorie Greenfield, M.D. http://health.yahoo.com/experts/pregnancy/3527/you-are-what-your-mother-eats-literally/ Ridiculous? When I was asked to comment on the local television news about a study that linked pre-conception diet with the sex of the baby, I figured I would be able to poke holes in the data in no time. The article was called, "You are what your mother eats: evidence for maternal preconception diet influencing foetal sex in humans," published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Biological Sciences. Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:18:56 -0800 Marjorie Greenfield, M.D. http://health.yahoo.com/experts/pregnancy/3499/time-to-quit-baby-making/ I just found a piece of paper from over a decade ago, on which I listed the pros and cons of continuing to attempt to get pregnant. At the time, my only child (Dan) was 4 or 5. I think if we had never had children I would have tried everything, including egg donor or adoption. I really wanted to be a mom; we really wanted to be parents. But having had that experience, the decision on how far to go to have another child was a challenge, especially since my husband was happy with one child. Wed, 14 May 2008 19:14:54 -0800 Marjorie Greenfield, M.D. http://health.yahoo.com/experts/pregnancy/3482/are-you-pregnant/ I have a friend who I know is trying to get pregnant. A few days ago we were having lunch and she said she had been so exhausted ever since she got back from a conference out of town. She attributed the exhaustion to having prepared hard for her presentation, and all the anxiety that led up to the meeting. So I controlled myself and didn't ask the obvious. Wed, 23 Apr 2008 22:42:24 -0800 Marjorie Greenfield, M.D. http://health.yahoo.com/experts/pregnancy/3452/too-much-medical-intervention-in-labor/ You may know already that pitocin is a medication that we use to induce or augment labor because it causes stronger contractions. My views on pitocin are not exactly in line with that of the natural childbirth community -- I don't think it is evil unto itself. But I have been wondering why these days, almost every labor eventually "needs" pitocin. So here are the factors that I think are playing a role in the increased use of pitocin. Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:31:48 -0800 Marjorie Greenfield, M.D. http://health.yahoo.com/experts/pregnancy/3428/healthful-food-choices-during-pregnancy/ We should all learn the skills needed to choose wisely between different options. But do we need numbers by our choices to help us? How do you figure out which foods are good for you? No one makes good choices every time, but it helps to at least know which choice is better when alternatives are presented. These recommendations are here to guide your choices. As you make small changes, hopefully you will develop good habits that will serve you and your children well throughout your lifetimes. Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:54:57 -0800 Marjorie Greenfield, M.D. http://health.yahoo.com/experts/pregnancy/3404/signs-that-you-are-in-labor/ Labor by definition occurs when regular contractions of the uterus lead to dilation and shortening, or effacement, of the cervix. Although preterm labor may be painless, most people have plenty of warning when they go into labor at term. As a matter of fact, with a first baby, moms are more likely to go into the hospital too early than to get there late. About ten percent of moms break their water before labor starts. This may feel like a pop, followed by a big gush, or it may come as an on-and-off trickle. If you are not sure, you may want to put on a sanitary pad, lie down for a while, and then get up and walk around. If the pad gets wet, call your doctor or midwife. Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:40:19 -0800 Marjorie Greenfield, M.D. http://health.yahoo.com/experts/pregnancy/3398/gestational-diabetes-what-does-it-mean/ Wikipedia has a good definition of diabetes: "Diabetes mellitus, often simply diabetes, is a syndrome characterized by disordered metabolism and inappropriately high blood sugar (hyperglycaemia) resulting from either low levels of the hormone insulin or from abnormal resistance to insulin's effects coupled with inadequate levels of insulin secretion to compensate." In other words, a person with diabetes doesn't have enough insulin to handle the sugars in the diet, and glucose, a type of sugar, builds up in the blood. Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:38:56 -0800 Marjorie Greenfield, M.D. http://health.yahoo.com/experts/pregnancy/3382/measuring-too-big-in-pregnancy/ I recently wrote about how we measure the uterus during pregnancy. The fundal height is the term for the distance from the pubic bone to the top or fundus of the uterus. So what does it mean if your fundal height is larger than expected? First of all, only consider that you measure big if your doctor or midwife is concerned, or you feel a lot different than you did in a prior pregnancy. People in your life may feel the need to comment on your size and shape when you are pregnant, but this doesn't mean anything unless your practitioner is also concerned. Wed, 05 Mar 2008 23:40:06 -0800 Marjorie Greenfield, M.D. http://health.yahoo.com/experts/pregnancy/3375/measuring-too-small-during-pregnancy/ I recently wrote about how we measure the uterus during pregnancy. So what does it mean if your "fundal height" (the name for that measurement) is smaller than expected? First of all, only focus on measuring big or small if your doctor or midwife is concerned, or you feel a lot different than you did in a prior pregnancy. People in your life may feel the need to comment on your size and shape when you are pregnant, but this doesn't mean anything unless you or your practitioner are also concerned. Fri, 29 Feb 2008 20:27:51 -0800 Marjorie Greenfield, M.D.