Approximately seventy percent of all women experience hot flashes and/or night sweats (also called vasomotor symptoms) during the menopause transition (Stearns et al. 2002).  Until recently, estrogen therapy was the treatment of choice for most women who sought treatment for hot flashes.  Since the results of the Women’s Health Initiative in 2002 noted risks of [...]

Given recent discussions within our group and with our colleague, Lewis Holmes, MD, chief of the Genetics and Teratology Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children and director of the North American AED (Antiepileptic Drug) Pregnancy Registry, I wanted to expand upon a previous blog post.  In the initial post, I wrote that women who [...]

St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) is an herbal preparation which has been shown, in some studies, to be effective for the treatment of mild to moderate depressive symptoms. St. John’s wort is now one of the most commonly used herbal products in the United States and is widely used in Europe.
Despite the prevalence of [...]

We commonly see women in our consultation service who have histories of depression and are planning pregnancy. They frequently have questions about alternative treatments for depression while pregnant. Given that many women are taking omega-3 fatty acids prior to pregnancy, the question arises whether they should discontinue them during pregnancy. An additional question [...]

Many women experience some degree of sleep disturbance during pregnancy. For a significant number of women, the sleep disruption may be so severe as to require some type of intervention. In a previous post, we discussed the use of different types of medications to treat insomnia during pregnancy. While these drugs are [...]

One treatment that has recently received a great deal of interest lately is fish oil. There is some preliminary evidence to suggest that the omega-3 fatty acids contained in fish and fish oil, including eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA), have an antidepressant effect. It has been discovered that mothers selectively [...]

A few weeks ago, January 7-13, 2008, was National Folic Acid Awareness Week at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), therefore we wanted to take the opportunity to remind women of the importance of folic acid in the prevention of birth defects. Folic acid can prevent from 50-70% of neural tube defects, which are [...]

Many promote the use of certain vitamins and minerals for the treatment of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), but controlled studies supporting the use of nutritional supplements are sparse.
There is some literature suggesting that the recommended dose of calcium (600 milligrams twice a day) can help to relieve mild to moderate [...]

During the two weeks prior to the onset of a menstrual period, many women experience physical symptoms, such as bloating, breast tenderness, headache, and muscle aches. A small proportion of women also note [...]