chatwithketch

Q: Dr Ketch, there is something I want to tell you. Many years ago I had abortion. After the abortion, I do see surgical threads in my private part when I am menstruating. I went to the hospital to complain about it but when the doctor inserted his finger inside my Private part he didn’t see anything. Now that I am married am still seeing it. Please, what should I do?

A: Hello!

It is strange that you are seeing surgical threads years after surgery. Do you have any other symptoms? Pain? Discharge? Swelling? I suggest you go to another OBGYN for a second opinion.

Q: Can abortion prevent me from conceiving?

A: Some abortions (termination of pregnancy) involve instrumentation (like Dilatation and Curettage – D and C). In a situation where the procedure was too ‘vigorously’ done or even in situations where the placenta attached too deeply into the womb making it difficult to remove retained tissue). a condition called Asherman’s syndrome can occur. This manifests as reduction in menstrual flow. Severe forms of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) can also cause Asherman’s Syndrome. For more on PID, please click on this link: https://chatwithdrketch.com/2014/09/22/daily-health-tips-what-is-pid/

In Asherman’s Syndrome, adhesions/scar tissue form inside the womb or mouth of the womb, cervix. This leads to stocking together of the front and back walls of the womb. Asherman’s Syndrome can lead to infertility, miscarriages, growth retardation of babies in the womb, placental problems etc

So, yes…abortions may lead to infertility if instrumentation like D and C is involved.

Have a good night, people!

‘A study published in JAMA provides some insight into the degree to which 10 specific foods and nutrients affect the risk of dying from cardiometabolic disease like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, or stroke’

Want to know the 10 foods and how they protect you? Read! https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/10-foods-that-may-impact-your-risk-of-dying-from-heart-disease-stroke-and-type-2-diabetes-2019100717965

‘You hear it all the time: the advice to “eat less processed food.” But what is processed food? For that matter, what is minimally processed food or ultra-processed food? And how does processed food affect our health?’

Want to know more? Read! https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/what-are-ultra-processed-foods-and-are-they-bad-for-our-health-2020010918605

Q: Dear Dr. I don’t know how to thank you enough for all your advice. Please ma’am, what is ‘routine drugs’? Why is it important to a man and a pregnant woman? Please explain its usefulness.

A: Thanks for your kind words.

Routine ‘drugs’ are those prenatal medicines given to pregnant women. The iron tablets are important to prevent anaemia (blood shortage) in pregnant women and the folic acid ensures that baby’s spine develops well with no defects. In fact, it is advised that women who wish to get pregnant should start taking folic acid about 3 months before they conceive.

Q: Good evening Doctor, I am 30 weeks pregnant and unfortunately my house help left for school about 3 week ago. Now all the house chores such as sweeping, washing, mopping etc. are on me now. Please, will this have any negative effect on the baby? I am very worried.

A: Hi dear. Thanks for writing in and congratulations on your pregnancy. I assume that it’s your first from your question: D

So, pregnancy is not a death sentence or an illness, really. It is a natural condition and so, potentially, you can do a lot of things without any problem. Now there are caveats…if you have threatened abortion (miscarriage), your doctor will advise you to be on strict bed rest and not to lift a finger, literally 😀 There are a few other conditions that may limit what you can do, but your doctor will definitely be the one to issue those orders. In any case, whenever in doubt, please consult your doctor.

Having said that, bending to sweep or mop is okay in pregnancy but it has to be done the proper way…bending at the knees and not twisting your body while at it 😀 I suggest that you use the long-handled brushes/mops for sweeping/mopping as opposed to the local/native brooms/scrubbing brushes that require bending…in probably uncomfortable ways.

Pregnant women get lots of advice: from friends, mothers, mothers-in-law, colleagues, husbands etc. Sometimes it’s confusing to know what’s true and what’s not.
As a follow-on of my post a few days ago, I give you some more pregnancy myths and my take on them:

Advice
The first breast milk, colostrum, should be discarded as it is dirty and causes rashes in children

Fiction (False)
Colostrum is the first milk produced by the mother and is loaded with antibodies and nutrients needed by the baby. Babies should not be deprived of this milk.

Any other ones you know?

Have a great evening 😀

We typically advise people to measure their blood pressures at home but sometimes, this makes people to report some false high blood pressure readings! Do you know what could be responsible? Make you just took a cup of coffee before taking the reading. Or perhaps, you were talking and/or gisting with a friend before taking the measurement? Well, read the post below to find out what you could be doing wrong when measuring your BP and get it right! 

http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/tips-to-measure-your-blood-pressure-correctly