Pregnancy for Professionals Podcast Pregnancy for Professionals

Today we bring in another patient voice. Jen is a labour and delivery nurse sharing her own patient experience via her two birth stories, the first a planned Cesarean section and the second, a very empowering Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC). Though Jen is a maternity care provider, going through childbirth herself has given her a multitude of valuable insights on both the process and the systems in place that support birthing people. Despite being intimately familiar with labour and delivery, she was surprised about what worked and what didn’t for her, and we’re so grateful she is sharing that empowering insight with us today.

“If there's one family that listens and takes away something that maybe resonates with them, or even one maternity care provider that listens and thinks, ‘I never thought about it that way that,’ I'll feel it was worth it.” - Jen

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Today’s topic might be something that many of us haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about - what kind of changes can occur within eyes during pregnancy? If a patient has a pre-existing condition, either physiological or specifically ocular, are the eyes particularly susceptible to damage during pregnancy and should specific precautions be taken? Could eyesight worsen during pregnancy? Or can it improve? What effects does breastfeeding have? And when should patients be guided to seek specialized help?

Ophthalmologist Dr. Amaka Eneh joins Dr. Alicia Power to answer the above questions and much more on today’s episode. As with many health issues, the earlier they are detected the easier they are to treat. To encourage patients to optimize their preconception health, consider downloading this clear, easy to read Preparing for Pregnancy guide to begin cultivating good physical and mental health as they begin their journey into pregnancy and parenthood.

Resources:


Preparing for Pregnancy Guide

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We need to have a serious conversation about postpartum care models in Canada. Statistics suggest that maternal morbidity and mortality rates are on the rise. Digging deeper into the numbers calls into question all sorts of gaps within our currently care models, how we can better address patient needs through interdisciplinary, collaborative care, the benefit of looking at other models internationally - and how the data collection itself may be leading to misrepresentative statistics.

Dr. Stephanie Ferguson, obstetrician/gynecologist based out of Guelph, Ontario, joins Dr. Alicia Power on today's episode to wade through this complex yet crucial topic on which her current research and fellowship focus on, and where she has already published articles on the topic, linked below.

Resources:


New moms navigate postpartum care maze | October 19, 2023 | Canadian Affairs | By Dr. Stephanie Ferguson
P4P Podcast Episode: Hypertension in Pregnancy

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On today's concise episode, Drs. Alicia Power and Sarah Lea discuss why newborns are given Vitamin K right after birth, what Vitamin K does in the body, the types of Vitamin K, the causes, effects and treatment of Vitamin K Deficiency Bleeding (VKDB), and how to address parent's potential concerns around administering Vitamin K at birth.

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Drs. Sarah and Alicia come together to share some more insights from their work with Revive Physicians, a community raising up and empowering female physicians to become long-term change makers and leaders. They share their top seven strategies for managing chaos at home and at work, to avoid living in a state of constant hyper arousal, and practicing these strategies so they can be more easily enacted in moments of unavoidable chaos.

Resources:


Free downloadable resource with Time Management Tips
The Well Calibrated Clinician: helping to regain control of your personal and professional life, this course is designed specifically for clinicians, who would like to make a positive change

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Kristen Yarker, Registered Dietician and founder of The Kristen Yarker Nutrition Agency, talks about the way menopause and perimenopause affect the body and how common symptoms can be managed or even lessened through nutrition. She shares the evidence around the significant hormonal changes that can lead to changes in fat distribution and muscle loss during this time, the consumption of alcohol and its effects, and last but not least the connection between mental health, societal pressures, sleep, nutrition and how they can all impact each other during the perimenopausal time of change.

Resources:


HealthLinkBC: provides non-emergency health information to the residents of British Columbia
Menaupause.org: promoting women's health at midlife and beyond

MenopauseandU.ca: the facts on menopause from Canada’s experts



Feedback:

Please take a moment to fill out this very short anonymous survey (>1 minute). We want to optimize Pregnancy for Professionals to suit your needs, so any feedback is very valuable and much appreciated!