Health Matters

Hot Flashes Keeping You Up?

Is your air conditioner failing to keep you cool this summer? If you are a woman in your 40s, hot flashes and night sweats may have you wishing for winter.

Congratulations are in order, but are your bags?

Planning to bring home a new bundle can be a bit surreal, but packing for your hospital stay doesn't have to be. I've cared for new moms and newborns for more than 40 years,  so I've got some experience with what you'll need (and what you won't) while in the hospital.

There are A LOT of options out there

There are a lot of options out there, but choosing where to get your mammogram can often be as important as choosing to get one at all. That’s because your comfort, and the available screening technology, should be top priority. Here’s what I suggest you look for when choosing where to get your yearly mammogram.

A non-invasive X-ray of the breast

The word alone can conjure up anxiety in many women, but a mammogram is simply a non-invasive X-ray of the breast. Knowing what to expect during a screening mammogram may ease your panic just a bit.

While each woman’s experience is different, most women report the test as uncomfortable, but not intolerable. In all, the process takes about 20 minutes.

Breastfeeding is nature-made, but it doesn’t always come naturally

Chesapeake Regional Healthcare offers lactation support in the hospital and in our Lactation Store, because it is only natural for new moms to need guidance with something they have never done before.  

The short answer: no. At any age, starting a family is a personal decision only you can make (with the help of your physician).

Today women are delaying their childbearing for various reasons. Many are marrying later in life, are furthering their education and having successful careers before starting a family. If you fall into one of these categories, do not be ashamed or afraid. Having a healthy baby may very well be in the cards for you.

It’s something most women don’t like to talk about. It’s embarrassing and can be life altering. But having a heavy, painful menstrual cycle is something worth opening up about‒at least with your doctor.

If you are experiencing uncomfortable periods that are accompanied by back or severe abdominal pain, you may have symptomatic uterine fibroids. Uterine fibroids are non-cancerous tumors that grow in the uterus. They are the most common type of tumor within the female reproductive system.

As a parent-to-be, you may feel overwhelmed with preparing for your new bundle of joy. You may be reading advice books and blogs, taking classes and asking friends and family for suggestions. However you do it, making sure you prepare ahead-of-time is a must.

If one simple yearly examination could significantly change the course of your life, would you elect to take it? Each year thousands of lives are saved by one test—the diagnostic mammogram. In fact, you might be surprised to know that mammography is the only medical diagnostic technology proven to decrease mortality. According to the American College of Radiology, yearly mammograms have helped to reduce breast cancer-related deaths by one-third since 1990.

It isn’t just a guy thing. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of both women and men in the United States. 

Unfortunately, only a small percentage of women believe this is the greatest health problem facing them today. And that’s concerning, because while the overall death rate from heart disease has decreased in men, it continues to increase in women.