How Long Is Too Long To Keep a Tampon In?
Whether you’ve Googled this late at night or texted a friend in a panic, we’ve all tried to find the quick and easy answer to this question at one point or another. The short answer: 8 hours. Why? Because after 8 hours, your risk of infection increases. To err on the side of caution, however, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends you change your tampon every 4-6 hours. What happens if you leave a tampon in for too long? Just as we’ve all wondered about how long we can keep a tampon in, we’ve also...
How Your Workout Classes Could Be Affecting Your Cortisol Levels
Over the past decade, workout classes have become popularized as a way to exercise without needing to think about crafting your own routine at the gym. Their low-maintenance, return on investment model helped create the notorious Barry’s Bootcamp, CorePower Yoga Sculpt, and Solid Core. However, not all workout classes are created equal. While the end result may leave us feeling sweaty and accomplished, research has revealed that our favorite classes can actually be adding extra stress to our bodies. Depending on the intensity and timing of an exercise, workout classes can create cortisol spikes. Cortisol is...
Butt Cramps During Your Period? What You Need To Know.
Let’s say it a few times together and get it out of the way: Butt cramps. Butt cramps. Butt cramps! Whew. Okay. We all know that menstrual cramps are an expected (if unpleasant) part of having a period. As many as 80% of women experience period cramps in their lifetime, with 5-10% of women experiencing cramps so painful that it disrupts their ability to go to work or school. Although cramps feel different to everyone and can range in severity, most people experience dull, throbbing cramps in their lower abdomen during their luteal phase, just before...
How To Choose the Ideal Egg Donor
No one's journey to becoming a parent is the same. For some people, it may involve IVF, and part of that might mean using an egg donor in order to conceive and then either carrying the pregnancy or working with a gestational carrier to carry the pregnancy. But how do you even begin this process? It can be daunting to choose the right egg donor. You’re making a pivotal decision in your future child’s life, and it’s nothing to take lightly. If you need a little bit of guidance in the process, we’ve got you. Read...
The ‘Ozempic Babies’ Discourse Is Trending on Social Media. But Is This Actually a Safe Way To Boost Fertility?
In the past few months, a few social media users have taken to social media to share some unexpected news: That they got pregnant while taking a GLP-1 agonist. Which, for the record, refers to drugs like Ozempic, which control blood sugar in patients with conditions like diabetes, but have become synonymous with the phrase “weight loss solution”). For example: One TikTok user shared that she got pregnant while on Ozempic — and several commenters weighed in to say that they too became pregnant unexpectedly while on Ozempic or another drug in this class (such as...
Can You Do Back-to-Back Egg Retrievals?
For patients undergoing “traditional” fertility treatments, the protocol for, say, in-vitro fertilization (IVF), is relatively straightforward: A routine egg retrieval cycle consists of ovarian stimulation — where the ovaries are injected with hormones to increase the number of mature eggs available for fertilization — on the second or third day of the patient’s menstrual cycle (soon after the period begins). This process continues for about 12-14 days. After the egg retrieval, a fresh embryo transfer can take place within two to five days, or the embryos can be frozen. There is another option, however. It’s called a “back-to-back” egg retrieval,...
In the pursuit of productivity and happiness, many of us find ourselves juggling school pickup with an impromptu "Can we chat?" Slack message from our boss and a last-minute grocery order. We are feeling completely overwhelmed, overstimulated, and out of control simultaneously. And as much as this behavior is a constant in our every day, it can also be detrimental to our mental health. So, after spending a small fortune on planners, timer apps, and productivity books, we feel defeated when we don't accomplish our daily to-do list. First, there is absolutely no shame in that!...
Minivan: Fertility Is Not Always a Cinderella Story
I always swore growing up that I would never drive a minivan. I hated them. Despite having grown up with them to be able to travel with my siblings and parents in my large family, I always imagined a much cooler way to get around. Ironically, I always envisioned having a large family myself — three, maybe four children and a partner to raise them with. I just always envisioned driving something, anything else. Of all the things I knew for certain about my future, being a mother was and is the most important to me....
Is Endometriosis Hereditary?
If you have a family member with endometriosis, you know it’s more than just a bad period. You’ve seen firsthand how chronic pain affects someone’s quality of life — and the toll it takes on their mental health. It’s natural to wonder if you’ll experience something similar too. Here’s what we know: Your risk increases if you have a close family member with endometriosis. More research is needed to fully understand the link between genetics and the condition, but if you have a family history, there are steps you can take to stay ahead of it....
Inside Postpartum Depression: Battling Intrusive Thoughts
“I imagined myself getting hit by a school bus and not caring, because at least that meant I could rest.” –Erin Sarris, 40, content strategist and infertility children’s book author “My thoughts ranged from wondering how I could break a leg just to ‘get a few days away’ to picturing myself pushing the stroller into the middle of an intersection.” –Frenchie Ferenczi, 35, consultant “I went into labor seven weeks early with my first. It's not surprising that when I did the postpartum ‘Are you at risk of postpartum depression’ survey, I was flagged as a...