Fortunately most of us are now aware that many women wind up suffering from postnatal depression. Perhaps less attention is given to mental health problems that can arise during a pregnancy, including Prenatal Depression. We know that pregnancy and childbirth (not to mention the arrival of a new member of the family) are one of […]
OK you’ve survived the first trimester and your N and V has settled down so everything should be fine. Right? Well unfortunately most women suffer from Heartburn or Acid Reflux during their pregnancy. This can occur during the first trimester (and if it does it tends to make your N and V worse) but usually […]
You really could be confused for thinking “Well I’ve had a nice normal NIPT and a normal Early Morphology Scan – seriously is there more these people need to test for?” Well, yes, there is. As good as the Early Morphology Scan is it is performed, well, early on in your pregnancy. Your baby isn’t […]
We have all seen the TV show where the young woman starts vomiting and everyone figures out that she’s pregnant. Nausea and Vomiting (N and V) are an extremely common – but unpleasant – symptom of pregnancy. Fortunately N and V is manageable for most women and these symptoms usually resolve by 16 weeks. There […]
Some vaginal bleeding – including spotting – is common in pregnancy and in most situations we don’t find a cause or the cause is completely benign and not threatening to your health or that of your baby. Having said that bleeding or spotting should never be assumed to be normal and it is a symptom […]
Food Borne Infections: Your unborn baby is very well protected from infections when they are inside the womb. There are a remarkably small number of infections that can cross the placenta and harm your baby. Two of these harmful infections are carried in food – Toxoplasma and Listeria. Toxoplasma is rare but it causes potentially […]
It’s really important to get yourself into the best possible shape prior to falling pregnant. Regular exercise is important as is a healthy low carb low fat diet. Your Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure of your weight in relation to your height. Anything you can do to optimise your BMI prior to conceiving […]
I recommend that you consider genetic carrier testing before you fall pregnant for the first time or, failing that, in early pregnancy. There are a small number of rare or very rare conditions that can be harmful to your baby but are not part of the usual pregnancy genetic testing. The main focus of our […]
For many years now we – usually your GP – have conducted a number of lab tests as soon as you are pregnant or, preferably, even before you are pregnant. Why do these tests before pregnancy? Simple. This gives us an opportunity to address any potential problems that might crop up as a result of […]
Most women know that is important to take Vitamins during their pregnancy. Most of the scientific evidence – and the consequent recommendations by health authorities – on this topic relates to taking a Folic Acid supplement. Why Folic Acid? Folate is Vitamin B9 and Folic Acid is a form of folate, as is folinic acid. […]
A very long time ago somebody figured out that a normal human pregnancy lasted nine lunar months. This link – incredibly – was not always known. I’m told the ancient Egyptians were unaware of the link between the menstrual cycle and pregnancy. Accordingly they used to tie a reed gently around the necks of young […]
Our mouths, our bottoms and our vaginas contain many bacteria. The overwhelming majority of these bacteria are harmless to our health. Group B Strep is a bacterium that lives in the vagina of 12-15% of Australian women. It is not a sexually transmitted disease (which means it is not the type of infection your mother […]
As you no doubt know there is an issue with respect to Salmonella infections in pre-prepared salads that can be purchased in plastic bags, usually from supermarkets. A couple of patients have already contacted me having consumed such salads. Now first things first. Salmonella is an extremely unpleasant infection and well worth avoiding but it […]
I’d like to recommend that you consider genetic carrier testing before you fall pregnant or in early pregnancy. There are a small number of rare conditions that can be harmful to your baby but are not part of the usual pregnancy genetic testing. The main focus of our testing during pregnancy is Down Syndrome and […]
If I looked after your pregnancy and the birth of your baby (or babies) since January 2017 I’d be very grateful if you could fill in my Patient Satisfaction Survey. It only takes 5 minutes. The link is https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/X2YBW9N Thanks so much for your time and your feedback.– Rob
I’ve just received notification that there have been a few cases of Listeria caused by eating Rockmelon in NSW! So in addition to the usual precautions you must take regarding food we need to add that you must not eat: Pre-cut melons of any sort, and Pre-packed cold salads including coleslaw and fresh fruit salad […]
You cannot have missed the media coverage of the Zika virus outbreak in latin America along with the very disturbing news that this infection appears to cause birth defects. There appears to be a link between maternal infection with Zika and babies suffering from microcephaly. Microcephaly literally means “small head” and the small head in […]
Dr Natalie Shaw and I have pretty much covered each other’s weekends, study leave and holidays on a one in two roster (12 days on and two days off) now for ten years. This is an unusually onerous out of hours roster (many obstetricians work in groups of up to four or five doctors) although […]
I’d like to teach the world to sing (in perfect harmony) – The New Seekers* New things come along very rarely in my business. Childbirth itself defines human existence and is of course described in the most ancient of texts. The techniques we use to manage abnormal labour and birth – the ventouse, the forceps […]
