Funny Friday!

Now that's a supportive Dr.!

What's really cute is his belly is just as big as hers!

Thanks again to babygaga.com for another great cartoon.

Calling African American Breastfeeding Mothers to Help Fight Breast Cancer

African American breastfeeding moms - we need you in the fight against breast cancer!

You probably know some facts about breast cancer: 1 in 8 women will develop it. Early detection saves lives. Breastfeeding reduces your risk.

But did you know that African American women tend to develop a more aggressive form of breast cancer? And that a higher percentage die from it?

These facts are daunting, but there is a special contribution African American nursing moms can make in the fight against breast cancer.

A study based at the University of Massachusetts is seeking African American nursing moms who have had, or are expecting to have, a breast biopsy for participation in a groundbreaking study. The lead researcher, Dr. Kathleen Arcaro, is examining the breastmilk of nursing mothers to identify molecular biomarkers for the development of breast cancer. Dr. Arcaro needs African American moms to participate so that she can determine if her findings are applicable to all women, and different types of cancer.

The identification of these biomarkers may lead to new breast cancer treatments, and perhaps a test which would use breastmilk to determine breast cancer risk.

If you participate, you would provide a breastmilk sample, which is overnight mailed from your home to the lab, and provide a copy of a biopsy report. You would receive $50 in thanks for your participation.

If you think you may qualify, please contact Dr. Sarah Lenington by phone: (413) 577-1823. If you don't, please spread the word by forwarding this on. Flyers and brochures are available. For more information, see the study website. Thank you for your help!

Featured Article: Avoid Long Waiting- How To Schedule Your Prenatal Care Office Visits By: Doug Pena, MD

This article was written by Dr. Doug Penta, OB/GYN this article is intended only for informational purposes. If you like what you read please feel free to either visit his site or to follow him on Twitter.

Personally I found this article to be very helpful in a practical manner and plan on taking the information provided and putting it to good use. Happy reading and thanks Dr. Pena for allowing me to share.

This is the type of information I enjoy sharing with my readers. Advice that is intended to be practical and very applicable, to help you with the little things that can make a big difference.

When scheduling an OB/GYN office visit, it is helpful to first have an understanding of how a women's health medical practice is managed on a daily basis.

In OB/GYN, there are many unpredictable factors that can impact how efficiently a practice will function from day to day. Unexpected events can disrupt even the most well thought out office schedule. Miscarriages, surgical emergencies and patients in labor are unpredictable events.

Granted there are always coverage arrangements in place to meet practice demands, but even with this being the case, there will always be occasions when the medical staff will be over-extended. When this happens, it is our hope, as providers, that patients will be understanding .

I am very sensitive to the total amount of time which can be lost by a prenatal patient during the course of her prenatal and postpartum care. Frequent visits can result in a significant amount of lost time from their daily schedules, including travel time, etc.

Providers dread running late for patients and even worse having to reschedule a patient, as this is not good for the relationship. Furthermore, it can often feel like a double standard to the patient ,if the provider cannot see her. Patients wait for doctors ... why shouldn't doctors wait for patients?

The recommendations I am going to list below are extremely simple and intended to help minimize some of the inconveniences and frustrations associated with scheduling office visits:

1.) Book as many appointments at one time as is possible/allowed so that you can get the times that you want. The intervals between appointments will be determined by the gestational age of your pregnancy.

2.) Schedule to be seen at the start of a provider's office session. This will reduce the possibility of problems occurring that can set your provider behind. If you are scheduling an afternoon appointment, try to get a time immediately after lunch (at the start of the afternoon session). Most providers, who are running behind, will tend to use their lunch time as a buffer to catch up if their morning session runs late. Needless to say, this might mean giving up their allotted time for lunch but that is simply how schedules are kept on time in this setting.

3.) Whenever possible, phone ahead to determine whether your provider is running on time. Most practices are glad to hear from you before you arrive so they can address a potential delay in the office schedule. When I am behind and am asked what to do about a patient who is inquiring , I much rather hear that the patient is on the phone and not sitting in the waiting room. I feel I have more flexibility, perhaps I can see the patient for the last appointment of the day or during a canceled appointment time that might have been called in earlier that day.

4.) Schedule your office visits (if there are choices) on days when there are more than one provider in the office. As a result of surgical schedules, providers being on-call or just coming off call (at the hospital) there can be days with limited office coverage. This is no fault of anyone, it is simply part of the logistics of maintaining an office practice. If there is only one provider in the office ("your provider") it can take just one urgent problem/emergency to disrupt a schedule for the rest of the day as there is no one else in the office to help catch up.

I hope these suggestions are helpful to you and also will help you have a better understanding of why there may be a wait for routine office visits.

Douglas Penta MD http://womenshealthcareinformation.com .

Wordless Wednesday- 16 weeks

My Butt Bone Hurts!! Does Yours?

Ok Moms-to-be and moms that once were "to-be"

Do any of you remember or are experiencing a pain in your butt when you walk? Not one that feel like someone pinching your butt cheek, that's a muscle thing. I am talking about a pain that is deep in your behind and feels like a bone is out of whack or something. It's an easily identifiable pain and it will increase when you bend or stretch in certain ways. It almost feels like you should be able to pop it back into place but as you try you realize that the direction in which you are trying to pop is one of the tender spots that cause the pain to increase.

I'm sure many of you know exactly what I am talking about and if that is the case I hope each of you was more successful at explaining to your Daddy Dears than I was. As a matter of fact he is the one who recommended that I write this particular post. He basically wants to know if any one else out there has gone through this. I know you have so don't be shy and more importantly let's not let him get away with thinking I am just going through some hormonal thing.

I explained that it's just my body's way of opening up and expanding so that our little bundle of joy has the needed space to grow into a big bundle of joy. That we have ball and socket joints in our body at that women's hips and pelvis bones are designed to open up and expand. To me that just sounds painful!

I also explained that I am an expectant mom over the age of 35 so there will be lots of squeaks and creeks coming from this body as it prepares itself for the miracle of birth (it's funny because with each child these little squeaks and creeks have grown in intensity). He being the loving supportive gentleman that he is understood, however still wants proof that I am not the only woman in the world who has experienced this. Why? Well it's a mix of sarcasm and concern! So ladies please chime in and let him know if your butt bone hurts also!!!!

My Name is MamaLuv42 and my Butt Bone hurt/s.

Feel free to cut and paste this with your name in a comment! Or if you had another nagging pain let me know what it is/was nothing is to big or small to mention!!!