The whole purpose of these things is really to make milk to feed babies. We have given them other functions in our society, but basically they are glands
They are well designed, because they only produce milk when there is a need, at the end of a pregnancy. They are functioning in response to certain hormones which increase in pregnancy, like prolactin. Occasionally
pregnancy should be investigated by a doctor.
When the breasts are working to plan, the prolactin stimulates milk production. There arc other things which contribute to maintaining production and flow of milk, like the stimulation of nipple sucking, which happens when a baby feeds. Breast feeding can act to keep higher levels of prolactin around, and can continue for weeks, months or years.
The breast tissue also responds to hormones other than prolactin. During the menstrual cycle there are varying amounts of oestrogen and progesterone around. This can affect the breast tissue. Some women notice changes in the size and consistency, and sometimes discomfort in their breasts during a cycle, or if they arc on the oral contraceptive pill. The first few weeks of pregnancy are usually associated with breast swelling and discomfort due to the change of hormones.
*199\52\4*
There may be many reasons contributing to a particular miscarriage, but with a background rate of 20 to 25 per cent, it is unlikely that a single factor will be identified. These are some of the reasons researchers have proposed for miscarriage.
Development problems in the conceptus. There are so many things which need to be right in order for a pregnancy to get going (fertilisation, passage to the uterus, implantation, development of the embryo and placenta) that occasionally something is not going to work. It may be that the conceptus did not have a firm enough hold in the endometrium, or the cells did not divide at the right rate, or the genetic material in that particular egg or sperm was not top quality. The truth is that we don’t usually know. These early-failing pregnancies usually have a good reason for not continuing, and seeing them as pregnancies which were never likely to make it is a reasonable approach. About 50 per cent of miscarriages are thought to occur because of these reasons, and usually this does not mean that the next pregnancy has a higher than average likelihood of miscarriage, because these factors are not necessarily more likely in the next pregnancy.
Hormonal reasons. If the ovary is not churning out enough hormone to sustain the pregnancy, or the placenta when it is formed does not produce enough, the pregnancy may fail. We know that many different factors can affect hormone levels (including health, diet, drugs, stress, other hormone levels etc.) at a particular time, and the circumstances may not necessarily be the same in the next pregnancy.
*159\52\4*
There are specialist abortion clinics in most capital cities. These are either public hospital clinics or privately run centres. Some of these offer counselling services, and general information about women’s health and contraception. Because they deal daily with abortion, they are often well equipped to help with the special needs of women in this situation. Most aim to meet the physical and the emotional needs of their clients with respect and dignity. Many women have reported back to me that the experience of going to an abortion clinic was not nearly as frightening as they had imagined. In fact several remarked that the positive way in which they were treated made the entire experience much easier to cope with.
Many private gynaecologists also perform abortions. A woman can obtain a referral from a general practitioner just as she would for any other surgical procedure. The gynaecologist sees the woman for a consultation, and makes arrangements for her to be admitted to a hospital where the gynaecologist will perform the abortion.
*120\52\4*
This gets tricky, because of the nature of the bug. In women and in men the process is similar.
The initial sore is usually a small, shallow, often painless ulcer in the genital region, but in women, if the sore is inside the vagina it may be missed, giving no clues, or just a slight bloody discharge. The sore will usually appear within two to twelve weeks from the actual ‘infective encounter’. The skin heals up and, if no diagnosis is made, and no treatment given, the bug hides until the next instalment, one to three months later.
The next sign is a rash. It is a pale pink spotty rash on the chest, generally, and sometimes on the face, palms and soles. This is not just a fleeting flush, so don’t get panicky every time you develop a little colour. It usually hangs around for at least ten days. It is often associated with a ‘flu-like’ illness, with fevers, tiredness, gland swelling and headache. There may be some wart-like growths in skin creases.
The rash then disappears, and it may be anytime later within the next two to twenty years chat the last, irreversible, phase begins. The bacteria affects the nervous system, and can give any number of symptoms, depending on which part of the brain or nerves are affected. Going mad was what most of the more memorable syphilis sufferers of history did, but it can also affect the nerves controlling the arms and legs and balance. It may also cause problems in other important things, like major blood vessels.
*81\52\4*
Ovulatory cycles will tend to be regular, and often around twenty-eight days. However, not all women have regular cycles, and if an ovary fires off sooner or later than expected, the first a couple may know about it is the anxious wait for an overdue period.
This method, like other periodic abstinence variations, relies on the ovaries and sperm behaving in a predictable and sporting manner. It is hoped that ovulation will take place mid-cycle, and the egg will expire after two to three days, and that sperm have a shelf life of three to five days. Unfortunately, these players sometimes change the rules in the middle of the game. There is a multitude of different forces which play a part in regulating ovulation.
Basically, according to the ‘calendar method’, intercourse should not take place for about four days prior to, and six days after ovulation. Assuming a 28-day cycle, ovulation would normally occur on day 14 (fourteen days before the start of the period). Therefore, no intercourse from day 10 to day 20, at least.
A woman could work our for her own cycle, by keeping a menstrual calendar for a few months, when her usual ovulation day is, and abstain accordingly.
*41\52\4*