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Uteri (uteruses) occur in quite a few slightly abnormal varieties, actually — a bicornuate uterus, a unicornuate uterus, and a retroverted or tilted womb are just a few. Your normal, average uterus is in a straight vertical position when its owner is not pregnant. For women who have a tilted uterus, it tips back toward the back of their pelvis slightly. A tilted uterus can come about by chance, due to childbirth, or as the result of complications like endometriosis.

Many women are not aware that they have a tilted uterus, but it is also possible to have noticeable symptoms. You may experience painful intercourse, and more frequent urinary tract infections (UTIs). If you know that you have a tilted uterus and are worried about how to conceive, your concerns probably come from the fact that many people believe that a retroverted uterus can cause infertility — this information is around on different websites, and in magazines and books, as well.

But more recent research reveals that the tilted shape of the uterus does not interfere with the functioning of this organ. Unless your tilted uterus was caused by an underlying problem (most commonly endometriosis, where the tissue that normally lines the uterus appears in other parts of the reproductive system too), you have no reason to be worried about your uterus causing infertility. A retroverted uterus does not harm the chances that an egg is fertilized by sperm.

When you do get pregnant, you may have fears about miscarriage or other problems, again due to the shape of your uterus. The uterus actually changes shape completely while you are expecting, and will not be tipped in any way at all as it expands. You may not even have a tilted uterus after giving birth!

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Experts on the Blood Products Advisory Committee voted unanimously to back the approval of the new at-home HIV test, which will be examined by the Food and Drug Administration later this year. HIV testing is not done by enough people who could be at risk. They said that the test would help HIV positive people gain access to healthcare and social help, and urged the company who came up with the test to place very visible warnings about the possibility of a false negative on the packaging.

Carl Schmid, deputy director of the AIDS Institute, was pleased with the pane’s approval of the new test. He told the Associated Press: “We are always looking for game changers, and we believe this is one of them. Not only will it help reduce the number of infections but it will bring more people into care and treatment.”

The FDA is under no obligation to follow the recommendations of the panel, but it often does — and in 2004 a 99 percent effective version of this test was approved for use by healthcare professionals. The makers of the new at-home test, OraSure from Pennsylvania, said that the test could be sold for around $60. It works by swabbing the outer area of the gums, which apparently is different in make-up to saliva, to test for the HIV virus.

At the same time, another advisory committee of the FDA called the Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee approved a pill that could decrease the chance of getting HIV for at-risk groups. The pill, called Truvada, is already used by HIV positive people, but could greatly reduce the risk of contracting HIV for people who have an HIV+ partner, the panel said.

Also see: Fertility treatments to prevent spread of HIV safe.

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Tubal reanastomosis

This procedure involves eliminating the damaged or blocked part of the affected fallopian tube. After the removal of the diseased portion of the tube, the healthy parts are joined together. Tubal reanastomosis can be done using traditional surgery, but laparoscopy is a less invasive and increasingly popular choice.

Fimbrioplasty

This procedure requires the removal of the scarred part of a fallopian tube, and the rebuilding of any damaged portions of the fallopian tube’s wall. Again, this surgery can be carried out laparascopically.

Salpingostomy 

Salpingostomy means creating an opening in the fallopian tube. It is carried out to allow fluid in the fallopian tubes to drain, and to resolve the blockage, as well as to remove an ectopic pregnancy from a fallopian tube. This procedure does not remove any part of the tube, and instead removes anything that is inside. This procedure is suitable for women whose blocked fallopian tubes are caused by fluid. Fertility is questionable after this procedure, especially if done on two sides. It’s been used as a form of birth control in the past.

Selective tubal cannulation

A selective tubal cannulation may be the best option for you if your blocked fallopian tubes are damaged at a site that is adjacent to the uterus. During this procedure, which is non-surgical, a small catheter is inserted into the fallopian tube from the uterus, to create an opening. This is often the first point of call when it’s been found that a woman has blocked fallopian tubes.

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NuvaRing weight gain

Some women react to the hormones in NuvaRing by putting on weight. Usually, this is only a temporary side effect, and this is something backed up by the manufacturer’s statistics on side effects. It is worth mentioning that it is not sure whether the actual hormones cause weight gain, or whether behavioral changes after going on hormonal birth control are responsible. However, many women on the internet report having put on a lot of weight and not having lost it again, so it is possible that this will happen to you — most likely due to estrogen. You may try switching to a non-hormonal birth control method like an IUD or condoms.

Hair loss?

NuvaRing’s makers say that some users of the contraceptive vaginal ring report experiencing hair loss on the scalp. This, again, doesn’t mean that the NuvaRing is directly responsible for this side effect, just that the two coincide.  Some people argue that introducing hormones to the body causes stress to it, and stress is a known cause of hair loss. Whatever the case, see your doctor if you do experience hair loss while using NuvaRing, because it’s also been associated with thyroid problems. The American Hair Loss Association (ALHA)  also says that it believes contraceptives — while offering great benefits to millions of women — carry a risk of hair loss for women with a history of hair loss.

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An estimated due date (or expected due date, or expected date of confinement), sometimes abbreviated as EDD, is normally calculated using the first day of your last menstrual period — even if you know exactly when you conceived. Based on this, the LMP method of calculating your due date, your pregnancy will be assumed to last for 40 weeks… or exactly 280 days long.

Generally speaking, medical professionals will agree that a full-term pregnancy is between 38 and 42 weeks of pregnancy. Most people would naturally deliver within two weeks of their estimated due date, going either way. Somewhere around five percent of pregnant women actually give birth on their expected due date, and in many cases that will be “due” to a c-section or induction of labor.

So, when is too early to go into labor, and when is too late? Too early is a matter of discussion. Many babies who are born at 36 weeks will be fine without medical assistance, but some studies indicate that even 38 weekers have more problems than 40 weekers, statistically speaking. Going over the expected due date is not a problem (see, when are you overdue?), and a great many of babies seems to be too comfy in there to be born. But studies show that the chance of stillbirth goes up drastically at the 42 week mark, making a compelling case for induction of labor at that time, or even a few days before.

Many moms will find that they get tons of irritating calls asking them whether their baby is born yet around the due date. If you want to avoid this, it’s a good idea to avoid giving your friends and relatives an exact date, and instead saying that you are due in, for example, early January or late August.

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Surrogacy has been around since Biblical times, unlike IVF. But gestational surrogacy, a situation in which a woman is pregnant with a baby who is not genetically related to her, is relatively new. Traditional surrogacy, in which a woman carries her own baby by the intended father with the sole intention of surrendering it, is still around as well, and surrogates can be found from all over the world (with varying costs).

When would a couple, or a single person, need to consider surrogacy in other to have a baby? Here are some more common scenarios:

• There may be no intended parent available who has a uterus. This could be because of a hysterectomy, where a woman’s uterus was removed for medical reasons, or because the intended parents are gay men.
• The intended mother could have uterine abnormalities that make carrying a pregnancy to term impossible.
• The mother could have other medical problems that would enable her to get pregnant and stay pregnant, but at the cost of severe health complications. This is the case with severe heart problems, for instance.
• The intended parents have tried fertility treatments to get pregnant, and are resorting to using a surrogate mother after they failed.

In the case of gestational surrogacy, the surrogate mother carries the baby, but is not also the egg donor (which is an uncomfortable euphemism for “biological mother”). Usually, the intended mother’s eggs are used, but when this is not possible — due to age or because the intended parents are both men — a separate egg donor will need to be used. Gestational surrogates are commercially available in some states, like California. Other options include asking a relative to act as a surrogate, or going abroad to countries like India or the Ukraine to find a surrogate.

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The study team made this somewhat shocking discovery when they set out to track the movements of MRSA using its genetic code. The bug started off in large hospitals in London and Glasgow, and then made its way to smaller hospitals throughout the country. These findings can be used to prevent the spread of the deadly MRSA bug in the future — for instance, by first screening for the bug and treating (where necessary), and only then transferring the patient to another hospital.

How did the new discovery about the spread of MRSA come about? Researchers looked at 80 strains of a major clone of the bacterium, found over the course of 53 years. Their genetic make-up was studied in detail. The clone is called EMRSA-16, and only appears in hospital settings. EMRSA-16 has been around for the last 35 years or so.

Lead researcher Dr Ross Fitzgerald explained: “These hospitals in large cities seem to be acting like a hub. The high levels of patient traffic in large hospitals means they act as a hub for transmission between patients, who may then be transferred or treated in regional hospitals. This is the first time we have had genetic evidence for it. And if we can identify the transmission routes we can take steps to prevent spread.”

MRSA cases have already gone down in recent years because of a greater awareness, but now, the development of the superbug is much better understood. Hopefully, this discovery will allow medical professionals to make big improvements in preventing the spread of MRSA, and treating it more easily.

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“Oh, look mom, beautiful little crystals!” my three year old said enthusiastically when he opened the silica bag that, of course, mentioned that it wasn’t fit for human consumption on there somewhere. We got the silica bags in the post with some buttons off off eBay, and my son it beyond the oral stage now. Usually, anyway. He didn’t eat any silica beads, but he did give me inspiration to blog about it. Because I’m sure plenty of moms have panicked when their child has consumed a bag of these see-through little beads. After all, they even appear inside food packages sometimes.

Well, as far as I can tell, here is the deal with silica bags:

• Silica itself is not toxic, and it’s also called silicon dioxide. It’s actually a mineral found in water and approved for use in food products. Silica is a major component of sand.
• Silica beads that are colored have chemical additives that may well be toxic. Cobalt will result in blue colored silica beads, and is toxic and potentially carcinogenic. Orange and green silica beads probably contain methyl violet, which is poisonous. Head to the ER if your child ingests one of the colored beads. Otherwise, don’t sweat it.
• If you’re going to call someone by phone, poison control centers are a better bet than your local pediatrician, because they’ll know all about toxic substances.
•  Since silica is used to absorb moisture, I wouldn’t be surprised if the beads increase in size if they’re ingested. It’s possible that this isn’t the healthiest of things.

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Do you have to “depill”?

Where does the idea that women have to wait for a while after quitting the pill come from? The only semi-medical reason I’ve ever found about waiting for a few months before trying for a baby is the fact that menstrual cycles often take a while to return to normal after the pill. That means that, on the off chance that you get pregnant in the first month or two, you may not know when you could have ovulated — and doctors will need to rely on ultrasound to provide you with an estimated due date. That’s hardly a disaster, though.

The practice of waiting apparently comes from somewhere else, though. In the past, doctors believed that women who got pregnant right after stopping the contraceptive pill had a higher risk of miscarriage. There is no evidence this is (currently, with the modern pill) true at all.

What else?

Even though the pill itself isn’t necessarily a reason to wait (you don’t need to use condoms in between ditching the pill and trying to conceive, for instance), there are some other issues. Most women ovulate within six weeks of quitting the pill, and often even within two weeks. If you use ovulation tests, don’t freak out if you have to wait longer than a month before it turns positive.

While you’re thinking about all that, go for a general preconception medical checkup, and ask your partner to do the same. You should think about things like blood tests for nutritional deficiencies, STD testing, and measuring your blood pressure. Your doctor will fill you in if you decide to do this.

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The British Department of Health first launched its “five a day” campaign to promote the idea that everyone should eat at least five fruits or vegetables every day. It’s certain that everyone who lives in the UK had heard about this campaign, and seen posters around the fresh produce departments of local supermarkets, on television, and other places. But the poll, which over 2,000 people participated in, shows that people in England, Scotland and Wales aren’t taking a whole lot of notice.

It’s hardly surprising that the poll showed lower income groups were less likely to eat a lot of vegetables and fruits, especially in the impoverished north of England. Higher income people, and those living in more rural areas, were more likely to consume enough fresh produce.

Kate Mendoza from the WCRF commented: “These figures show that many people are still finding it difficult to follow the healthy eating message. Getting at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day is the building block of a healthy diet. Not only are fruit and veg a good source of nutrients, they also tend to be low in calories and full of fibre and so help us maintain a healthy weight.”

In case you were wondering what fruit and veg have to do with cancer, Mendoza also added: ”A diet based on plant foods, such as wholegrains and pulses as well as fruit and vegetables, can reduce cancer risk as research shows they protect against a range of cancers. Recent research has confirmed that foods containing fibre reduce the risk of bowel cancer. Although people are more aware of the significance of eating five a day than they used to be, it is clear that there are still barriers to incorporating plant foods into our daily diets.”

You may also like to read about how family dinners improve your health.