Healthful Woman Podcast

Andrew Cromer shares his story of identical twins born at 24 weeks, including his wife’s emergency C-section, his sons’ stay in the NICU, and the support they received from family. While telling his story, Andrew shares advice for couples in similar situations: take one day at a time, don’t despair, and be cautiously optimistic.

On this episode of Healthful Woman podcast, Dr. Fox is visited again by Annemarie Stroustrup, MD, MPH to discuss the topic of peri-viable birth. Dr. Stroustrup speaks from her experience in the NICU.

Approaching this difficult, emotional topic with long-time colleague Dr. Jessica Spiegelman, Dr. Fox discusses periviability: the period of time in which a baby is more likely than not to not survive the birth process. While clinically this period of time is somewhat well-defined, the choices, care plans, and procedures that might have to be done are anything but.

One topic that isn't often discussed about preterm birth and preterm labor is when it's actually medically recommended in specific scenarios. Dr. Nathan Fox talks with Dr. Jennifer Lam-Rachlin about the delicate balance of determining the safest delivery date for both mother and baby in our continuing miniseries on preterm birth.

Dr. Andrei Rebarber joins the podcast once again to talk about cerclage, a surgical procedure for women experiencing cervical incompetence. In this episode, Dr. Rebarber explains why the procedure is “controversial,” when a patient needs a cerclage, and more.

During routine ultrasounds, the length of the cervix is measured to help understand a person's risk of preterm labor long before it becomes an issue. Dr. Nathan Fox interviewed Dr. Simi Gupta to discuss when this would be done and what steps they take to lower the complications when necessary.

Dr. Nathan Fox talks with Dr. Simi Gupta today to talk about a common high-risk birth situation, giving birth after having previously having a preterm birth event. The risks are higher for another preterm delivery but not guaranteed. There are a lot of possible outcomes, risk factors, and reasons to deliver early a second or third time, and our doctors are here to make sure both mother and baby stay healthy and enounter the fewest complications possible during their care.

Dr. Shari Gelber returns to Healthful Woman to explain PPROM, or preterm premature rupture of membranes, meaning that the water breaks early. PPROM occurs in just 2-3% of pregnancies but can cause complications including premature birth or infection. Dr. Gelber explains causes for PPROM and more.

Pre-term labor, which is defined by experiencing contractions with a change in cervix dilation, occurs during more pregnancies than people might think. Dr. Nathan Fox and Dr. Jessica Spiegelman explain the difference between this and preterm contractions, and why in most cases, it either stops on its own or results in a normal full-term delivery. In some situations though, there are simple protocols they're able to perform to help reduce the risk of complications.

Today we introduce Dr. Farnaaz Kia, who describes what it's like to train and undergo laparoscopic or minimally invasive procedures as opposed to traditional open surgery when necessary. These new techniques allow patients to experience the same quality care with much smaller incisions and less downtime than traditional open surgery techniques, whether you're anticipating a C-Section or other surgery, like a hysterectomy.