Placenta previa is a condition where the placenta grows over the cervix or is too close to the cervix. This can lead to catastrophic bleeding for both mother and fetus and requires a c-section for safe delivery. Placenta previa is often suspected early on in pregnancy when an ultrasound suggests the placenta is very close …
Continue reading “How does a placenta previa “move” on ultrasound? (With video!)”
Perhaps you have heard of the latest “natural” birthing trend called a “lotus birth”? This practice involves leaving the newborn attached to the placenta until the umbilical cord separates “naturally” or, to be blunt about it, rots off. Let’s get two sets of basic facts established before we continue: The placenta receives its oxygenated blood from …
Continue reading “A lotus birth is leaving a newborn attached to a decomposing placenta”
There is a “new viral sensation.” Ok, there is one almost every day, but this one is a NEWBORN BABY WALKING AT BIRTH LEAVING MIDWIVES STUNNED IN BRAZIL. This is not news this is normal pediatrics. The baby is exhibiting a primitive reflex called the walking or stepping reflex. There is no weight-bearing and no …
The New Scientist, a publication I had never heard of before, wonders if Serena Williams pregnancy is making her a better athlete? This is a new low in “pregnancy angles.” I often get asked to comment on celebrity/athlete pregnancies and I always decline. Why? Partly because I don’t want my name in a shit article …
An Op-Ed in the New York Post has lots to say about the motherhood on display at the Grammys. The author criticizes Beyoncé for her “tush-wiggling” and “pagan fertility worship” and finds Adele’s words about her struggles with motherhood “self indulgent.” I think the take home message from the column is supposed to be …
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a warning regarding the potential dangers of anesthesia in pregnancy and for young children. Specifically that “repeated or lengthy use of general anesthetic and sedation drugs during surgeries or procedures in children younger than 3 years or in pregnant women during their third trimester may affect the …
Many years ago when I was the most junior person on the team I sat on the hemorrhaging wound of a person who was a Jehovah’s Witness. She was literally bleeding to death. I was medically the least helpful person so I was the human sandbag as the gurney flew down the hallway towards the …
This is a common question that many have used to question the link between Zika and microcephaly. It is a valid point. After all, viruses have been around forever so if Zika caused microcephaly wouldn’t we already know that? The answer is pretty simple – Zika is actually a relatively new virus …
The story is a sad one, a set of twins where one is not expected to survive due to complex anomalies. As the mother of a set of triplets where one did not survive I understand this kind of pain. A couple in such a situation spoke with their local news about their ultrasound which …
Every few news cycles placenta-eating seems to make the rounds. I’ve already seen it a couple of times this year, so I figured the Internet is trying to tell me something. Some women, but mostly those who recommend and/or prepare placenta for them, think that ingesting placenta can cure/help post partum depression and possibly a …
Continue reading “Just because you can eat your placenta doesn’t mean you should”
Dr. Jen Gunter 