Chelsea Well Woman Care

Smoking Cessation Program

Heart Disease continues to claim more women's llives than the next six causes of death combined, about 500,000 women's lives per year. One of the major risk factors for heart disease is smoking. Now, Chelsea Well Woman Care is proud to offer women a comprehensive smoking cessation program developed by our own Beverly Woodard. This program includes an intake visit with Beverly, a comprehensive plan for quitting, tools to use to prevent relapse, and a series of followup visits. Please call the office for more details.

MS Walk

Chelsea Well Woman Care joins the fight to find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis! On Sunday, April 17th a team of walkers representing our practice will participate in the annual MS WALK at South Street Seaport in New York City. If you would like to join us or sponsor our team, please email Beverly or Kristen as soon as possible. We will then forward registration and sponsorship information to you later this week.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an incurable, chronic, unpredictable neurological disease with the potential to produce significant disability in affected individuals. It is believed to be an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks its own tissues. Meylin, a substance rich in proteins and fat which layers around the nerves of the body to provide insulation, is destroyed in MS. As a result of the destruction of this protective myelin sheath, the transmission of nerve impulses along affected nerves is slowed down or destroyed. This can result in a variety of  symptoms such as dizziness and balance problems, difficulty walking, visual disturbances, pain, numbness and tingling, memory loss, as well as difficulties with problem solving, vocabulary recall, reasoning and concentration.

While most people with MS do not become seriously disabled and enjoy a normal lifespan, most people with MS and their families and friends are forced to adapt to lifestyle changes mandated by this unpredictable disease. Some suffer progressive disability which makes them incapable of performing some basic activities of daily life such as communicating with others, bathing, eating, and getting around without assistance.

Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50. It occurs more frequently among individuals with Northern European ancestry, but no one is immune. There is some evidence that genetic factors contribute to susceptibility to this disease, but it does not appear to be directly inherited. Both men and women are affected, but two to three times as many women as men have MS! Let's do something about this debilitating disease today. Join us for the MS WALK!

Becoming Heart Smart

Heart disease is the #1 cause of death as well as a major cause of disabling illness for women in the United States. Each year, approximately half a million women lose their life to cardiovascular disease. That number represents more deaths than the combined total of the next 7 leading causes of death in women! While death rates due to cardiovascular disease in men have declined in the last 20 years, the rates for women have increased. This unfortunate statistic is made even more frightening by the knowledge that  the consequences of heart disease for women tend to be more severe than they are for men. Research has demonstrated that 42% of women who suffer a heart attack will die within the first year as opposed to only 24% of men. Of those women who survive that first year, 33% of them will have a second heart attack within the next 6 year period. These statistics are even more harrowing for African-American women who are 70% more likely to die due to heart disease than Caucasian women of the same age.

Elevated blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels, cigarette smoking, obesity, inactivity and diabetes have been identified as the 6 major risk factors for the development of heart disease. Happily, all of these factors can either be prevented or managed through lifestyle modifications such as quitting cigarette smoking, adhering to a heart-healthy diet, regular exercise, and in some cases medication for cholesterol and or blood pressure manaagement. Individual risk for heart disease varies based on a variety of factors such as a woman’s family history, ethnicity, and lifestyle. Contact your health care provider for a personal risk assessment and help devising a plan to ensure your future heart health. For more info on issues affecting cardiovascular health please visit the American Heart Association for a risk assessment quiz and check out Go Red For Women. 

NY Times Reports Midwifery on the Decline in NYC

The New York Times reports a decline in midwifery services in NYC. Maria Freytsis, RN, MPh and Chairperson of Friends of the Birth Center responds here.