The Knowledge Center
At Coastal Women’s Healthcare, we are committed to providing you with the education and tools you need to enjoy good health every day and through every stage of life. For instance, first-time obstetrical patients receive the helpful book “Your Pregnancy & Birth”
Patient Education
We offer patient education as part of our commitment to your total care. Our Nurse Practitioners offer a variety of health education programs, health counseling and support groups. These include small group, individual, or couple programs on fertility issues, hysterectomy, menopause, premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and early pregnancy.
For more information or to enroll in a class, please call Coastal Women’s Healthcare at 885-8400 during office hours.
Classes
Early Pregnancy Class
Presentor: Kathy Beach CNM
We offer this class the first Thursday of the month at 4pm to expectant mothers, free-of-charge. You will meet for an hour and 15 minutes with one of our Nurse Practitioners and several other women who are in their first few months of pregnancy.
Discussion will focus on:
• the sexual and emotional phases that both women and men often experience during pregnancy
• your body’s physical changes during the first trimester
• your baby’s early development
• the AFP and amniocentesis tests
• miscarriage
• the importance of nutrition and exercise
• any other concerns you might have
Early Pregnancy Discussion Group
Newly pregnant women and their partners are invited to join a free Early Pregnancy Discussion Group. Our nurse midwife, Kathy Beach, will cover such topics as nutrition, exercise, nausea, fatigue and prenatal testing. She will also be happy to answer any questions you might have.
The group will meet the first Thursday of each month from 4:00-5:00 p.m.
Massage Therapy for Couples
Presentor: Gloria Mallett
This free class is held the second Tuesday of the month at 5:30pm. After March it will be the first Thursday of the month at the same time. It teaches expectant couples the basic principles of therapeutic massage with an emphasis on well-being during pregnancy. Pregnancy brings changes -- physical ones for the mother-to-be, and emotional ones for both partners. A growing uterus can contribute to backache, neck tension and extra stress on legs and feet. Therapeutic massage improves circulation, promotes relaxation and releases endorphins (natural mood-elevating hormones). Bring your partner for a hands-on neck and shoulder massage; mother, father and baby will all benefit!
Licensed massage therapist and certified hypnotherapist Gloria Mallet, RN, BS, holds this class on a Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Class size is limited to ten people.
Infant Massage
Presentor: Gloria Mallett
If your pregnancy is at least 25 weeks along, consider joining us for this free class. Gloria Mallet, RN, BS, a licensed massage therapist, will teach techniques to help expectant parents feel confident about infant massage. This classis held the third Tuesday of the month at 5:30pm After March it will be the third Thursday of the month same time.
Caring touch and massage, beginning in early infancy, can help:
• parent-infant bonding
• release body tension
• reduce fussing and colic
• promote physical development
• contribute to a peaceful, nurturing environment
Classes are held monthly on a Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Class size is limited to ten people. It might be helpful to bring a doll or teddy bear for practice.
Infant & Child CPR
Presentor: Kathy Clark
$45/couple, second Monday of the month
Hysterectomy
Presentor: Brenda Houdlette
This free class can be useful whether you’re contemplating a hysterectomy or have already scheduled your surgery. A Certified Registered Nurse will meet with a small group of women to discuss the procedure and its ramifications. She will discuss female anatomy, the different types of hysterectomies, and common reasons for the surgery. The group will also learn about the body’s reaction to hysterectomy and what to expect in the hospital and during recovery time at home. Because the group will address women’s sexual and emotional concerns, the group is not open to male partners.
The group meets on Mondays at 4pm and will last for an hour and 15 minutes. Class size is limited to ten people.
Ask the Doctor
Q: How are endometriosis and infertility related?
J. L. Wilkis, MD:
“Endometrium" is defined as the lining of the uterus that is shed when a woman has a menstrual period. Each month when she is not using hormonal contraception, her ovaries produce hormones that ripen and release an egg for fertilization and, hopefully, pregnancy. If she does not conceive, the endometrium is shed through menstrual bleeding. Endometriosis is the endometrial tissue (which usually lines the uterine cavity), but is found outside the uterus in various abnormal locations. The most common sites of endometriosis are the lining of the pelvic organs, called the pelvic peritoneum, and the ligaments that support the uterus.
Endometriosis is thought to originate either by back-bleeding of the lining of the uterus through the fallopian tubes, or by a change in tissue type in the peritoneum, which covers all of the pelvic and abdominal organs. It is most commonly discovered in the third or fourth decade of life and tends to run in families.
The disease is a difficult one to diagnose because the site of the disease and the pain threshold of women vary. Endometriosis is found in somewhat less than 10% of the female population and in over 30% of women who are struggling with infertility. The most common presenting symptoms are dysmenorrhea or painful periods, dyspareunia or painful intercourse, recurrent premenstrual spotting for two to four days prior to the actual start of menstrual flow or chronic pelvic pain unrelated to menstruation. Bowel changes such as diarrhea or constipation, and bladder symptoms like painful urination or frequency, tend to cluster around menstrual cycles. The symptoms may be virtually incapacitating or they may, indeed, be very subtle. The variety of symptoms makes the diagnosis of endometriosis a difficult one.
The disease is suspected by a patient’s history of the symptoms noted above. Endometriosis is corroborated by pelvic exam and especially by doing a rectovaginal exam, and it can only be confirmed 100% by a laparoscopy. (Laparoscopy is a procedure in which a small, lighted instrument is inserted through an abdominal incision.)
The laparoscopy allows the doctor to both confirm the diagnosis and hopefully at the same time treat the condition by using surgical excision, laser vaporization or cauterization. Surgical therapy is the recommended mode of treatment for infertility issues due to endometriosis, because all of the drug therapies that have been successful in suppressing the disease also cause suppression of ovulation and thus are counterproductive in the women trying to conceive. Hormonal suppression may be used as treatment in young women when fertility is not an issue.
One of my mentors during residency told me on many occasions that in every diagnostic gynecologic consultation the physician should have in mind the possibility of endometriosis. To fully evaluate the woman by pelvic exam, a rectovaginal exam must be done. Although difficult to diagnose sometimes, the disease is most often readily treatable by laparoscopic surgery, and many cases of “unexplained infertility” are, thus, solved.
