Fluid is sometimes used in the pelvis before a hysteroscopy to separate the abdominal organs. Could you explain why fluid is used instead of gas and the reasons why one or the other may be used? Do they have any adverse effects? The procedure of hysteroscopy can be used for diagnosis or treatment, but in [...]

Caffeine Caffeine is a stimulant and could therefore be classed as a ‘drug’. It has an adverse effect on fertility but it can also cause problems once a woman is pregnant. In a study of 2967 pregnant women, carried out by the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale University School of Medicine, the [...]

Many women feel isolated and confused when they have been diagnosed as suffering from endometriosis. Who do you turn to when your family and friends do not understand? They may find it difficult to understand your feelings and are not always able to provide the support and help you need. A support group such as [...]

Here are some additional practical tips for hair loss: ? Buy a small metal screening device (available at a hardware store) that you put over your shower drain to prevent the large quantities of hair from blocking your drain. ? Keep an empty plastic bowl in the shower to collect the hair as it comes [...]

Women who use avoidance as their coping mechanism have trouble with radiation because of its dailiness. Instead of coming to the hospital for a surgical procedure or chemotherapy treatment every few weeks, they will need to come every day. Thus there are daily reminders that this is really happening, that breast cancer has been diagnosed, [...]

In any case, the experience of living with a parent who has cancer produces an unusually early awareness of mortality in the children. Such an increased level of sensitivity and anxiety often influences acutely the choices young adult children make about their work, careers, and relationships—choices that may set them apart from their peers. Adult [...]

Some husbands have told us that their children assume that the death of their mother is a real possibility. Let them talk about their fears and their feelings with both of you if that feels right to you both. It may be that your wife cannot emotionally handle too much of this conversation at this [...]

For those who are comforted by the strength of their own beliefs, their already established habits of personal prayer will provide crucial support. What had previously furnished a familiar, stabilizing ritual will now, in time of personal crisis, provide a soothing refuge and a pathway toward healing. You will come to realize, and value, the [...]

Infertility. Endometriosis is a fairly common cause of infertility, with between 25 and 50 per cent of infertile women being found to have it, although in many the disease will be mild. It interrupts conception not only by the mechanical barriers it may produce (like scarring and cysts), but also through producing a hormonal effect [...]

Exercise. It makes sense to do some form of regular exercise, in order to be fit before, during and after pregnancy. If you didn’t exercise regularly before you became pregnant, you don’t suddenly have to become a triathlete, but it would be a good idea to incorporate some type of activity into your routine. If [...]