At Covington Women’s Health Specialists, we prioritize the well-being and comfort of our patients. We take pride in our affiliation with Piedmont Newton Hospital and their anesthesiologists’ and anesthetists’ commitment to offering advanced pain management techniques to enhance patient recovery. One such technique is the use of nerve blocks, a method that has proven to be highly effective in reducing postoperative and postpartum pain while minimizing the reliance on narcotic medications.

Nerve blocks are a form of regional anesthesia that involves injecting medication near specific nerves to block pain signals from reaching the brain. This targeted approach provides significant pain relief in the immediate postoperative and postpartum periods. Unlike systemic narcotic medications, which can affect the entire body and cause a range of side effects such as drowsiness, nausea, and constipation, nerve blocks work locally, allowing patients to experience effective pain relief without these unwanted side effects.

The benefits of using nerve blocks over narcotics are particularly important in the context of obstetrics and gynecology. After surgery or childbirth, effective pain management is crucial for a smooth recovery. Nerve blocks not only reduce physical discomfort but also help new mothers stay alert and engaged during the crucial early bonding period with their newborns. Additionally, minimizing the use of narcotics helps prevent potential issues related to dependency and ensures a safer recovery process.

The skilled anesthesiologists and anesthetists at Piedmont Newton Hospital are highly trained in administering nerve blocks, ensuring that our patients receive the best possible care. By prioritizing patient comfort and recovery, we are striving to enhance the overall patient experience and ensure the best possible outcomes for our patients.

To schedule a prenatal visit to learn more, call our office at 770-385-8954 or request an appointment online.

When you’re pregnant, so much changes in your life and in your body. While the way your belly grows might be the most obvious difference, your skin also experiences a lot of shifts. From breaking out heavily to becoming a totally different type of skin, every woman experiences skin changes during pregnancy differently.  

If you’d like to learn more, the experts at Covington Women’s Health Specialists are digging into how pregnancy can impact your skin below.  

The Famous Pregnancy Glow 

Many women experience what’s called pregnancy glow, when a pregnant person’s skin seems to be luminous. Experts believe this is due to the increased hormones, oil, and also blood volume.  

Enjoy this time and treat your skin gently! And know that when things go back to normal, your skin will be just as beautiful.  

Stretch Marks  

Your body is growing to make room for the fetus. Stretch marks are an absolutely normal and expected part of pregnancy! They most usually appear around your abdomen, hips, butt, thighs, and breasts after your skin has stretched to cover the expanding parts of your body.  

While some creams and products can help lessen their appearance if your stretch marks are really bothering you, they can’t treat them fully. We recommend understanding they’re natural and that there’s nothing wrong with these marks.  

Breaking Out  

When you’re pregnant, your progesterone levels increased, which means more oil production for your skin. This often leads to breakout, no matter your age when you’re expecting!  

However, it can be difficult treating this issue as many products for acne control can have products that might lead to birth defects. Don’t pick your skin!  And do not use creams with retinol, retinoids, or salicylic acids. Instead, use benzoyl peroxide, wash gently and consider natural essential oils such as sea buckthorn that has anti-inflammatory properties.  

Additions to Your Skin  

Many women experience changes in the appearance of their skin during pregnancy. This could mean moles growing in size or additional ones appearing, skin tags producing, and dark skin patches showing up, a condition called melasma.  

Keep an eye on all these changes. For new moles, it’s always important to get them checked for potential skin cancer. For other issues, it’s best to let them develop and treat them after you give birth and are finished with breastfeeding. Speak with your dermatologist for the best course of action to do so!  

Varicose Veins  

Another impact of increased blood flow during pregnancy is varicose veins. These occur when the leg veins experience additional pressure and swelling. They appear to be darker and more obvious veins, sticking out on the skin of your legs.  

How to beat this? Some of the changes are due to hormones which we cannot change during pregnancy, so change the things you can by avoiding excessive weight gain!  Get up and start moving! Exercise boosts circulation and prevents blood from pooling in the legs. Choose healthy foods and control your portions.  You are not eating for two grown-ups!  As your midwife or doctor about a pregnancy meal plan that considers your pre-pregnancy weight. 

If you have any more questions about how pregnancy can impact your skin, reach out to our experts by clicking here or giving us a call at 770-385-8954.  

Hand Washing with Soap and Water is BEST!

By Cathy T. Larrimore, MD, FACOG

Cathy T. Larrimore, M.D. is Board Certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG).

Even before Coronavirus, pregnant women were worried about germs.  But now, with the coronavirus, the concern is at a fever’s pitch!  

Handwashing and the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers are the currently recommended procedures for the control of infections such as the flu, colds, and even coronavirus.  But the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecology (ACOG) advises that “women should avoid alcohol entirely while pregnant or trying to conceive.” So, is the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers by pregnant women a risk to their unborn fetuses?  Do we know if any of the alcohol is absorbed through the skin?  And what if the women breathe the sanitizer in while it is drying on their hands?  And how many applications a day are safe?

Few studies have been done to measure blood alcohol concentrations after the use of these alcohol-based hand sanitizers.  But the studies that have been done concerning the application of hand sanitizer to the skin and breathing it in showed that a small level of alcohol is absorbed and can be found in the user’s bloodstream.  

The amount of alcohol absorbed would increase with multiple uses of the hand sanitizer.  That is concerning because ACOG states that “adverse effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on child behavior at age 6 to 7 years are evident even at low levels of exposure.”  So, the safety of the repetitive use of hand sanitizer during pregnancy is uncertain.  

Handwashing with soap and water is the preferable way to clean your hands and fight germs during pregnancy.  Reserve hand sanitizer use for once in a blue moon when water and soap are not accessible to you.