How Does Essure Protect Against Pregnancy?
Unlike a monthly oral contraceptive, Essure provides birth control without the use of hormones. The tiny inserts (made of the same flexible, soft material as employed in heart stents) block a woman’s fallopian tubes. This makes it nearly impossible (99.8% of the time) for sperm to reach the egg and a woman to become pregnant.

This permanent birth control technique appeals to the half million women who are done having babies, and prefer a hormone-free, non-surgical alternative to traditional birth control.

Permanent birth control may not rank among the most romantic topics to cover on Valentine’s Day, but the assurance of Essure brings peace of mind for many couples.
If you want to explain the process over dinner tonight, begin with the fact that the obgyn doctors at Health Central-Dallas perform the in-office procedure in about 10 minutes.

Other facts your Valentine will want to know about Essure:

1) The Essure system involves mild sedation and a transvaginal approach with no cutting or scarring.
2) You’ll return to regular activities the next day.
3) You’ll need a back-up system of birth control for three months until your Health Central doctor can confirm that your fallopian tubes are completely blocked, using a simple x-ray procedure.

Think of Essure as the non-surgical alternative to having your tubes tied. Forget chocolates and flowers. This Valentine’s Day, give yourself freedom from the worries of a potential pregnancy.

Health Central Women’s Care obgyn doctors care for women at all stages of life, helping them make informed choices about their gynecological care.

Types of birth control

Hormonal methods, including “the pill” that revolutionized birth control, work by preventing female ovulation. Today’s options for hormonal birth control include oral pills, implants, injections, patches, vaginal rings and emergency contraception. All oral contraceptives carry a risk of blood clots. A new man-made hormone (drospirenone) in some contraceptives seems to be associated with elevated risks.

Intrauterine birth control, including copper and hormonal IUDs, offers another nearly 100 percent effective option. Your obgyn at Health Central Women’s Care can insert a small device into the uterus, providing effective birth control for nearly a decade in some cases.

Barrier methods such as condoms, diaphragms, cervical caps, spermicidal foam, suppositories and sponges, can help prevent pregnancy, but are considered less effective than items 1 and 2 in this list. Latex condoms, the only form of birth control that protects against sexually transmitted disease (STD), should be used every time you have sex with an untested partner.

Permanent birth control (vasectomy and tubal ligation) appeals to men and women that have decided to close the door on getting pregnant.

Dr. Clark W. Griffith regularly counsels his patients on family planning and contraception.

“The best method of birth control is a very personal choice, one that involves deciding on your goals for having (or not having) children,” says Dr. Griffith.

Dr. Griffith will also consider your health history and habits that could impact the effectiveness or safety of your choice. For instance, do you often forget to take pills? That definitely impacts the birth control method that will work best for you.

Obgyn doctors do not consider natural family planning (charting your ovulation), breast-feeding or the withdrawal method (removing the penis before ejaculation) effective forms of birth control.

Your friends will have opinions on the best way to avoid getting pregnant, but if you have questions about which type of contraception best suits your current needs, talk to an expert. Health Central Women’s Care has been helping women plan for and avoid pregnancy for over 20 years.

The March of Dimes reports that 120,000 babies are born with physical and/or mental birth defects each year in this country. The most common birth defects include: heart defects, cleft lip and cleft palate, Down syndrome and spina bifida.

Ob gyns Identify and Protect Against

Ob gyns help women prevent birth defects by advising them of steps to take prior to getting pregnant and during pregnancy.

Birth Defects

Sonograms and prenatal visits to Health Central Women’s Care can reveal these common birth defects, and, in some case, medical intervention that can correct some issues in utero.

It is possible to prevent certain birth defects by taking action prior to and during pregnancy. The doctors at Health Central Women’s Care advise all of their obstetrics patients to take proactive steps to help prevent birth defects.

1. Abstain from alcohol, illegal drug use and certain prescription drug use. Ask your ob-gyn doctor about which over-the-counter and prescription drugs are deemed safe for unborn babies. The March of Dime and CDC also caution against smoking cigarettes while pregnant.
2. Take 400 micrograms of folic acid every day, beginning at least one month before you get pregnant. This B vitamin helps decrease the risk of brain and spinal defects–spina bifida and anencephaly–by 50-70% according to the CDC. You can get your folic acid in a multivitamin or a bowl of breakfast cereal with 100% daily value of folic acid.
3. Talk with your obgyn doctor about preventing infections and whether your vaccinations are current. You’d be surprised how simple actions like changing the cat litter, eating brie or undercooked meat or a lapsed immunization schedule can impact your unborn child. Ask about a fact sheet to learn more about Health Central Women’s Care recommendations.

While it can seem overwhelming to imagine what can go wrong in pregnancy, all the Health Central physicians reassure their patients every day, arming them with the facts that can help increase the odds of a normal pregnancy. Simply by living in an industrialized nation, one with iodine in our salt and folic acid in our cereal, flours and grains, we protect our babies from neural tube birth defects.

If you plan to get pregnant in 2012, make an appointment with one of the skilled and caring obstetricians at Health Central Women’s Care.  The best time for that appointment is 3-4 months before you want to start “trying” to get pregnant.

An annual wellness visit just takes an hour or so, but the recommendations Health Central doctors make during that one-on-one time can greatly impact your daily life and long-term health.

Top 5 healthy habits your obgyn wants you to practice:

1. Following our dietary advice and exercise recommendations can make a dramatic difference in regards to your health and wellness, and even your fertility. Did you know that being overweight or underweight could impact your reproductive system, interrupting ovulation?
2. If you plan to get pregnant in 2012, ask the obgyn doctors at Health Central Women’s Care for the proactive steps you can take now for the optimal health of your baby.
3. Remaining current on your vaccination schedule can save your life. That’s why Health Central Women’s Care offers an Electronic Medical Record System so that you can easily and efficiently access your shot records as needed.
4. Pay attention to the three numbers that define your health: blood pressure, cholesterol and weight. If these numbers fall outside a recommended spectrum, your obgyn can offer resources to return them to an optimal level. We also recommend bone density testing when appropriate.
5. Learn how to effectively and regularly give yourself a monthly breast exam. Early detection is key to survival, so your obgyn can’t stress enough the importance of a breast self-exam (BSE).

Resolutions for a happy and healthy New Year start with optimism and fall within a manageable plan. One tip from The Dallas Morning News’ “12 Healthy Ideas for 2012 New Year’s Resolutions” reminds resolvers to put something on the calendar, like a 5K run, to motivate their efforts.

To make your appointment for a 2012 well-woman visit, contact the women’s health experts at Health Central Women’s Care.

Health Central Offers new Oncovue Breast Cancer Screen

Dr. Jay Staub and the doctors at Health Central are excited to offer this technology to women in the Dallas area. “We want our patients to enjoy long, health lives. The OncoVue® test helps us better predict a woman’s chance developing breast cancer at different stages over her lifetime. This information enables women to take a more pro-active approach to breast health.”

Annual exams and mammograms for women over 40 have increased the chances of catching and treating breast cancer at the earliest possible stage. Women with a family history of breast cancer have often received further testing to look at their risks. Until now, accurate screening tests haven’t been available for the average patient.

Using the InterGenetics® proprietary technology platform called “CombiSNP®,” the Ocuvue test looks at common variations in many genes involved in growth factors, DNA repair, steroid hormone metabolism, DNA repair, free radical scavenger, and cell cycle control. The test utilizes this data to calculate a person’s odds of developing breast cancer.

“Every patient’s risk level is determined based on the individual’s genetic makeup, personal health and family history,” Dr. Staub explained. “The results are completely unique to that specific patient. As well, the OncoVue® test can assess a woman’s risk at various points in her life.”

With this screening tool, women and their physicians can use the information they gain to determine if more frequent exams or more advanced monitoring is warranted.

“This knowledge will allow us to partner with our patients in preserving their breast health and overall wellbeing,” said Dr. Staub. “Advances like the OncoVue® Breast Cancer Risk Test mean that our patients can live long, full lives.”

About Health Central Women’s Care:

Since 1972, Dallas has relied on Health Central Women’s Care, formerly Ob-Gyn Associates of North Dallas, for first-rate care by physicians invested in overall wellness and leading edge technology. Your Dallas OB-GYN team includes two original founding physicians, Dr. Clark W. Griffith and Dr. A. Jay Staub, along with top talent Dr. Ann R. Woodbridge, Dr. Felicia Tillman, Dr. Natalie C. Light, Dr. Francesca Perugini and Dr. Liesl B. Smith. Health Central Women’s Care Dallas provides friendly, courteous care in gynecology and obstetrics and earns a reputation for excellence in minimally invasive surgery, particularly laparoscopic hysterectomies. For more information, please visit www.healthcentralobgyn.com .

Health Central Women’s Care Dr. Jay Staub was featured on Dallas WFAA Channel 8 in a news story about the HPV test. Watch as Dr. Staub explains why Health Central Women’s Care has offered advanced HPV testing for more than seven years.

Unlike the pap smear process, which collects a sample from the cervix and checks for changes in cellular structure that could be pre-cancerous, the HPV test examines a cell sample to reveal the presence of the Human Papilloma virus’ DNA.

The HPV test is more thorough than the pap smear and obgyns believe it better protects women because early detection is key to surviving cervical cancer.

What is HPV?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention name human papillomavirus virus (HPV) as the most common sexually transmitted virus in the United States. There are more than 100 strains of HPV, most of which are benign and disappear without causing health problems. Of the strains, 40 can be transmitted through sexual contact.

A papilloma is a wart. Most HPV warts are benign.

A few strains, however, can lead to cervical cancer, vaginal cancer, vulvar cancer, penile cancer, anal cancer and oropharyngeal cancer.

• About 80% of women by age 50 will test positive for the HPV virus. –(National Cervical Cancer Coalition)
• 50% of all sexually active people will have genital HPV in their lifetime. (CDC)

Work HPV Screening into a Well Woman Visit

Think of HPV as the common cold for the sexually active person. Most will be exposed and will not exhibit symptoms; some will contract a strain that could lead to serious health problems. Preventive healthcare can protect you from HPV and cervical cancer. To schedule a well woman visit with the obgyn doctors of Health Central Women’s Care, please visit www.healthcentralobgyn.com.

Why haven’t you scheduled your annual well woman visit so that you can get the support you need to enjoy life to the fullest?
Rather than dread your pap smear, think of an annual well woman visit as a gift of preventative healthcare.

Health Central Dallas will schedule a visit with your doctor prior to the examination. Plan to use the allotted time to update your doctor on any changes in your lifestyle, work situation, personal or family health and immunization history. You should request prescription medication refills and inform your doctor of other medications you are currently taking. Ask about healthy habits and inform your Health Central obgyn of plans to become pregnant.

What to expect in a well woman visit

Your well woman visit begins with recording vital stats, head to toe. The staff at Health Central Dallas will check your weight, height and blood pressure. You will provide a urine sample, so arrive at your well woman appointment with a full bladder.

The physical exam will include a clinical breast exam to check for irregularities. Of course, your Health Central Obgyn will recommend that you practice breast self exams each month. Your physician will also listen to your heart and lungs and do an abdominal exam. The pelvic exam, along with a pap smear, also occurs at this time.

You may need a blood panel screening to address your health concerns or family history. Be sure to check with your insurance provider to determine whether your plan covers tests that screen your cholesterol level. Your Health Central Dallas Obgyn may also recommend that you begin regular mammograms or colonoscopies, depending on your age and family history.

What NOT to expect in a well woman visit

If you have pressing health concerns that will require in-depth discussion, it’s best to schedule a separate appointment. That way, you will receive the attention you deserve. Remember that the purpose of a well woman visit is preventative. Trying to delve into complex medical issues or a list of concerns in an abbreviated timeslot will only frustrate you and your Health Central Dallas Ob gyn.

If you bring up a new health problem or one comes to light at your annual visit, don’t be surprised if your doctor recommends a follow-up appointment.

To learn more about the services we offer or the Ob gyn doctors of Health Central Women’s Care Dallas visit our website.

Or, click here to schedule a well woman visit.