PREGNANCY MYTH: The Twin Bananas

In the Philippines, the elderly believed that eating twin bananas while you are on your first months of being pregnant will produce a Siamese twin babies. Obviously, there is no truth to this statement. The younger generations are much more educated knowing that Twin Pregnancy(Siamese twins) is more of a genetic issue but with due respect to the old beliefs and the very well known respect of the younger generations to their ancestors they find it hard to set aside this belief plus the stigma of having Siamese twins the pregnant woman would rather not eat a twin banana.

Twin Pregnancy (Fraternal Twins) occur when two eggs were fertilized by two sperms and (Identical Twins) are produced when a fertilized egg(zygote) splits to form two embryos. Siamese Twins( Conjoined Twins) is failure of the twins to separate at certain point in the gestation.  In the Borneo Post Online, a man believed that the banana tree in his backyard which produced 4 bunches of bananas is a blessing. We can say that having twin babies is also a blessing to the family.

Pregnant? Here is how to protect yourself from mosquitoes that is safe for you and your baby

I will not discuss on what is Dengue Fever its stages and symptoms but if you want to know about it visit this blog post. What I would like to tell you is how to protect yourself from mosquito bites when you are pregnant.

Remember pregnancy is a very delicate condition. Insect sprays containing harsh chemicals especially DEET are not allowed to be used during pregnancy. Even insect repelling lotions and Citronella oils applied on skin are not allowed.

SO HOW CAN YOU PROTECT YOURSELF FROM MOSQUITO BITES ?

1. Citronella Bracelets- Citronella products are basically safe in pregnancy for as long as you don't apply it directly in your skin.

Alcohol on your Sanitary Napkin?

I am surprised to hear practices in the clinic. When patient came in for vaginal itchiness I usually ask what they do to relieve it and surprisingly a handful still practices putting rubbing alcohol in the sanitary napkin during menstruation. Some put it in pantyliners and some directly rubs it in their vagina.

In as much as alcohol acts as a disinfectant with a cooling property, it should NEVER be used in the vagina for several reasons:

Cranberry Juice and Coconut Water for Treatment of UTI

UTI(Urinary Tract Infection) one of the most common disease encountered in my Gyne clinic. Syptoms vary from difficulty in urination, painful urination, frequent urination or worst blood in the urine.

When a patient comes to my clinic I usually requests for a urinalysis and part of my treatment aside from prescribing antibiotics is patient education regarding supplementary treatments.

It is important that patient have adequate water intake. Drinking 8-10 glasses of water a day is mandatory for me. It helps dilute the urine. A concentrated urine is a risk for bacterial overgrowth. If the patient has extra budget for Cranberry Juice then so much better. Cranberry Juice has been proven to treat UTI based on a letter published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM, October 8, 1998, Vol. 339, No. 13) mentioning a 1994 research study which validated the claim that cranberry juice prevents UTI's, and clarified that it is not because of the acidic nature of the cranberry juice, nor because of the Vitamin C content. It is in fact due to specific compounds called condensed tannin (specifically proanthocyanidins) in cranberries and other vaccinium fruit species which prevent the attachment of P-Fimbriated E.Coli to the walls of the urinary tract. P-Fimbriated E. Coli bacteria is a major culprit in UTI's.

Eggplant and the Color of your Baby

Traditional Filipino Belief: " Do not eat eggplants while pregnant because it will make your baby dark-skinned". First of all the color of your baby depends on you and your husband's genetic make-up and no amount of eggplant can change that. It is not true that when you eat burnt food will also affect the color of your baby but of course it is not good to eat burnt foods.

Eggplants(Aubergine) are rich in fiber, folic acid and potassium there was one study that states that eggplants helps lower down cholesterol and is effective in the treatment of high blood pressure. However, eggplants has also a bad side. Eggplants are rich in nicotine, a harmful substance found in cigarettes. A 9 kg of eggplant contains nicotine equivalent to 1 cigarette stick. It is actually minimal compared to passive smoking that is why eggplants are still not considered harmful during pregnancy since the amount of nicotine is negligible.

Yogurt and Yakult for the treatment of Vaginal Yeast Infection?

Who wouldn't want a yogurt with all the fresh fruit toppings?

Yogurt is a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. Fermentation of lactose by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to give yogurt its texture and characteristic tang.

Dairy yogurt is produced using a culture of Lactobacillus subsp. In addition, Lactobacillus acidophilus, bifidobacteria and lactobacillus casei are also sometimes being added during and after culturing yogurt.

But aside from the nutritional value and health benefits of yogurt in supporting the digestive system, preventing diarrhea and promoting weight loss, do you know that yogurt are being used by other people as substitute feminine/vaginal wash? If you try searching the net about Candida a lot of blogs discusses the effectiveness of yogurt in treating yeast infection. Some even sell materials/books for download on how Candida can be cured by using yogurt.

CANE VINEGAR for the treatment of VAGINAL PROBLEMS

Cane vinegar is a mild vinegar that is often used in cooking. It is being compared with rice vinegar in its mildness. 


But do you know that cane vinegar can be used to treat vaginal problems?


Patients come in with complains of vaginal itching, vaginal discharge and a foul smell and some of my patients belonging in the older age group claimed to have found solution in cane vinegar. These are the population of women who were born before the advent of feminine wash. 

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) (Stein-Leventhal syndrome)

Polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS) is one of the common condition I encounter in the clinics. Usually patients came in with periods of amennorhea (no menstruation), irregular menstruation or dysfunctional uterine bleeding.


What I usually advise patients when they present with the above symptoms is to have an ultrasound to check for the ovaries and most of the time they came back with results of PCOS.

What is PCOS?
PCOS is a problem in which a woman’s ovary have multiple immature follicles, usually the ovaries produces 1-3 eggs per cycle but only one of the 3 eggs mature and become dominant and ready for fertilization, the rest remains inactive. In PCOS, multiple follicles appear at the same time with no single egg becoming mature or dominant . This causes increase in the production of estrogen and androgen causing imbalance between the progesterone and estrogen ratio during the cycle..this results in irregular menstruation and when the period is irregular it is difficult to get pregnant.