Cocoa Pods

Dr. Joseph Poku

#electricity #HeartBLOCK

#GrinchSyndrome

#ExecriseIsKey

#HeartArrythmia #StraightFromtheHeart

#HeartBeat #BPM #SVT #EKG

Clinical Electrophysiologist discusses the cardiac issues that pregnant women experience and laughs at his own brief tangent as he presents ways to decrease risks and treat heart problems in pregnant women.

Most common heart arrythmia is SVT, Super Ventricular Tachycardia, and this condition mostly manifests for the first time when a person is pregnant. SVT is where the heart beats extremely fast.

Women who experience heart fluttering or a fast-beating heart is first given a heart monitor to wear for 24 hours so that all heart beats within that time period can be recorded and studied. The next step up from that is an event monitor. These monitors use a trigger button sensor that prompts the monitor to records a period of 3 mins before and 3 mins after a person prods the trigger button in response to them feeling a sensation in their chest. This technology gives physicians the ability to capture what a person is feeling as it happens because any sensation in the chest or heart in women should be taken seriously. By having a cardiologist evaluate the upper and lower chambers of the heart can work towards a diagnosis and pinpoint the seriousness of any abnormal feelings in the chest. Echocardiograms are ultrasounds used to diagnose heart conditions; it allows radiologist and physicians to see the valves of the heart.

Cardiac Electrophysiologist look for risk factors in pregnancy like common atrial fibrillation, any history of heart failure that is class 2 or higher, low ejection fraction due to weakened heart muscles, any genetic abnormalities or any congenital heart diseases.

One of the apparent drawbacks would be the deregulation of Autonomic Nervous System in pregnancy. The volume in pregnancy increases primarily the blood volume changes, these changes increase stretch as stretch increases the tissues’ refractoriness can alter the characteristics of the electrical properties of the electrical system of the heart. This in tandem with other contributing factors such as hormones and unhealthy practices expose more underlying or preexisting morbidities in pregnancy.

At times cardiologist find high blood pressure in the lungs, valves blockages or valves with abnormally small opening on the left side of the heart, symptoms of heart failure like one’s heart not being able to relax or the heart not being able to pump enough blood to meet one’s daily metabolic demands. These findings have been determined to increase the mother’s risk by 25%.

But what about baby? By 4 months of pregnancy, the conduction system (the electrical system of the heart) is mature and already working. In women with lupus, the pregnancy becomes high risk as the fetus develops antibodies that affect its heart rhythm usually slowing it down. On the other hand, if fetal heart rhythm is fast, a heart rate that is greater than 180 beats per minute, then there would be a need for the mom to take an anti-arrhythmic medicine that would cross the placenta barrier with great efficiency.

So, a call to action for women who are considering getting pregnant: if you have weak heart muscles, a heart murmur, extreme shortness of breath, swollen legs, or joints that are extremely loose, then please do see a cardiologist or a primary care provider before you attempt a pregnancy. In addition, exercise is a key component to a healthy heart during pregnancy. Exercise can work one’s way out of dysautonomia which is a dysfunction of the nerves that regulate nonvoluntary body functions, such as heart rate, blood pressure, and sweating. Exercise strengthens the heart, leads to better auto regulation of one’s heart, so those who are family planning should get a minimum of 3 hours of exercise per week because staying active will work in everyone’s favor.

Wait for it....Dr Joseph Poku talks about issues of dizziness,fainting,shocking a pregnant woman back to life and wait for it he has the happiest laugh ever!

Dr. Joseph Poku

#electricity #HeartBLOCK

#GrinchSyndrome

#ExecriseIsKey

#HeartArrythmia #StraightFromtheHeart

#HeartBeat #BPM #SVT #EKG

Clinical Electrophysiologist discusses the cardiothoracic and vascular issues that pregnant women experience and laughs at his own brief tangent as he presents ways to decrease risks and treat heart problems in pregnant women.

Our guest cardiologist specializing in electrophysiology gave the true breakdown of the heart and he defined the heart muscle as a pump that is driven by electricity. The electricity supply from the top part of the heart travels through the AV node (the middle toll booth) to the Ventricle (or bottom chamber). When heart is beating too fast or firing extra beats from other parts of the heart then the toll booth can get overloaded and cause the electric signals to bypass the normal toll booth (AV node) and goes down via another toll booth in the heart and this could affect blood pressure and potentially compromise the gas, nutrient, and waste exchange for the fetus that occurs via the placenta. In cases like this it may call for the mother’s heart to be shocked back into normal rhythm. Dr. Poku consistently emphasized the need for the electrical wiring to be in sync.

For informational reference, the normal heart rate for an adult was established to be anywhere between 60 and 100 beats per minute, but it was also made known to be on guard for a heart rate that is above 130 beats per minutes when resting because that is a problem.

Dr. Poku provides the Cocoa Pods audience with a heart arrythmia perspective and focused on the issues of dizziness, fainting, and shocking a pregnant woman back to life.

He designated dizziness as cardiac rhythm disturbances, and during pregnancy it is common to see an exacerbation of arrythmia symptoms which lead to some people coming to the cardiologist for the first time. Fainting spells usually only occur when there has been a history of fainting before getting pregnant, but the fainting becomes more frequent when pregnant perhaps because the increase in volume when the body gets bigger makes one prone to passing out.

Yvonne Gabriel

#Art

#Paint

#PaintingInPregnancy

#Creativity

#Fear

#GoodTimes

#Daybreak

#ArtTherapy

#ExpressingEmotions

World renowned artist Yvonne Gabriel who has created majority of artwork housed at the BCFND Foundation headquarters has finally come to Cocoa Pods! Her enthusiasm lit up the host and audience capturing them in her exposé about art expression and art therapy. She expressed her appreciation for the opportunity to value people through portraits stating that each painting experience is a positive interaction. According to Mrs. Gabriel, the best benefits from art in pregnancy occur when the engagement in art is done with a group and is repetitive. This is because there will be an understanding that a bond will be formed through consistency. Furthermore, art provides a sense of community because of its nature as being a common activity that multiple people can contribute to. This combats loneliness that can be felt during pregnancy. With the sense of community where there is no judgement about what one is creating, pregnant women can introduce themselves leading to collective conversation that address thoughts and fears about their own gestational journey. In this time prenatal anxiety can rise due to the bombardment of written and verbal medical information paired with hormonal changes and the acknowledgment of great responsibility of parenthood. Yet, in these group art forums the pregnant ladies give insight and advice to each other and put one another at ease; hence, multiplying the anxiety reduction that engaging in art has proven to accomplish for many suffering with worry.

Art has many added benefits. Mrs. Yvonne Gabriel shares her pregnancy testimony about how art helped subdue her nausea. Art can give you a good break to distract you from the impact of change that results from pregnancy. Art has the power to help identify emotions while refreshing a person and giving a relaxing release of built up anxiety and frustration.

Do tune in to hear Mrs. Yvonne Gabriel share many creative art forms pregnant women can participate in to memorialize and capture their gestational journey. Art forms such as:

• Painting

• Coloring

• Photography

• Body Castes

• Clay work

• Sculpting

• Knitting

• Crocheting

• Sewing

• Making jewelry

• Graffiti

Extremely talented Philanthropist artist Yvonne Gabriel gleefully shows us a new side of art and what it can do to a person; a person of means or of no means; a pregnant woman or a new mother.

She talks about favorites in artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and the graffiti world and much more...

#Yvonne Gabriel

#Art

#Paint

#PaintingInPregnancy

#Creativity

#Fear

#GoodTimes

#Daybreak

#ArtTherapy

#ExpressingEmotions

Do tune in to hear Mrs. Yvonne Gabriel share many creative art forms pregnant women can participate in to memorialize and capture their gestational journey. Art forms such as:

• Painting

• Coloring

• Photography

• Body Castes

• Clay work

• Sculpting

• Knitting

• Crocheting

• Sewing

• Making jewelry

• Graffiti

Episode Description

Dr Natalie Hernandez,Latinos BIPOC women

#Community

#WorkLivePlayPray

#scientificmethod

#GAImprove

#DualPandemic

#StructuralEpidemicOfRacism

#Redlining

#TELEHEALTH

#PeaceForMoms

There exist barriers for participation in research, but to ensure research is reliable it is right to use community focused platforms and community based provider practices to begin and continue their involvement in research. Why? Because that is where the people are and it gives researchers the opportunity to address the disparities of respective communities by advocating for their apparent needs when advising legislators and policy makers.

For GAImprove, Principle Investigators Dr. Natalie Hernandez and Dr. Cheryl Franklin use their research to cost effectively improve infrastructure purposed for implementing interventions in many rural health care practices to gauge the prognosis of pregnant women. They have worked to link rural women to essential services, to necessary resources, and to progressive medical systems that hope to provide the best care possible for all women.

Dr. Hernandez frequently speaks with policy makers, leading local legislators, and front line workers about the health issues that they see pregnant and postpartum women face during the current COVID-19 pandemic and in the context of racism because their acknowledgment of their heightened awareness will lead these leaders to make the best decisions that will impact the health of the community.

She also exposed the paradox of the #DualPandemic: COVID-19 + Racial Reckoning and how both of these issues lead to mental health issues, mainly the acute and chronic stress that many experience. During pregnancy, stress leads to maternal mortality and morbidity, but #GAImprove is researching biological indicators of stress by observing hair samples and sweat production which will awaken some to their own denial of the silent killer. Dr. Hernandez provided may tips to alleviate stress, and gave insight on how each local health department can provide mental health services.

On one side of the #DualPandemic, they at Morehouse School of Medicine have begun the beginning stages of what would be a longitudinal study of pregnant women who have had COVID or currently have COVID infection in order to study what the effects of the virus paired with a compromised immune system may be.

On the other side of the #DualPandemic, they are studying the #StructuralEpidemicOfRacism and the particular historical policies that still oppress today. Dr. Hernandez and her colleagues are analyzing policies and linking them to research data sets such as where clinics are located in communities to expose how structural policies are related to maternal health outcomes. The results of these major research projects will inform citizens and put pressure on the policy makers and leading local legislators to reform for the benefit of women and mothers in their cities, counties, districts.

In order for social research to be sufficiently successful it must move to policy and action. So, please participate in political reform for the sake of pregnant people by getting involved in research.

Ways to get involved in research

Contact organizations and inquire what kind of research is being conducted

Surf the web at www.msm.edu to find ways to get involved in research projects

To participate in #GAImprove focus groups where gift cards are rewarded, then email the program manager [email protected]

Dr Natalie Hernandez,Latinos BIPOC women

#Community

#WorkLivePlayPray

#scientificmethod

#GAImprove

#DualPandemic

#StructuralEpidemicOfRacism

#Redlining

#TELEHEALTH

#PeaceForMoms

There exist barriers for participation in research, but to ensure research is reliable it is right to use community focused platforms and community based provider practices to begin and continue their involvement in research. Why? Because that is where the people are and it gives researchers the opportunity to address the disparities of respective communities by advocating for their apparent needs when advising legislators and policy makers.

For GAImprove, Principle Investigators Dr. Natalie Hernandez and Dr. Cheryl Franklin use their research to cost effectively improve infrastructure purposed for implementing interventions in many rural health care practices to gauge the prognosis of pregnant women. They have worked to link rural women to essential services, to necessary resources, and to progressive medical systems that hope to provide the best care possible for all women.

Dr. Hernandez frequently speaks with policy makers, leading local legislators, and front line workers about the health issues that they see pregnant and postpartum women face during the current COVID-19 pandemic and in the context of racism because their acknowledgment of their heightened awareness will lead these leaders to make the best decisions that will impact the health of the community.

She also exposed the paradox of the #DualPandemic: COVID-19 + Racial  Reckoning and how both of these issues lead to mental health issues, mainly the acute and chronic stress that many experience. During pregnancy, stress leads to maternal mortality and morbidity, but #GAImprove is researching biological indicators of stress by observing hair samples and sweat production which will awaken some to their own denial of the silent killer. Dr. Hernandez provided may tips to alleviate stress, and gave insight on how each local health department can provide mental health services.

On one side of the #DualPandemic, they at Morehouse School of Medicine have begun the beginning stages of what would be a longitudinal study of pregnant women who have had COVID or currently have COVID infection in order to study what the effects of the virus paired with a compromised immune system may be.

On the other side of the #DualPandemic, they are studying the #StructuralEpidemicOfRacism and the particular historical policies that still oppress today. Dr. Hernandez and her colleagues are analyzing policies and linking them to research data sets such as where clinics are located in communities to expose how structural policies are related to maternal health outcomes. The results of these major research projects will inform citizens and put pressure on the policy makers and leading local legislators to reform for the benefit of women and mothers in their cities, counties, districts.

In order for social research to be sufficiently successful it must move to policy and action. So, please participate in political reform for the sake of pregnant people by getting involved in research.

Ways to get involved in research

Contact organizations and inquire what kind of research is being conducted

Surf the web at www.msm.edu to find ways to get involved in research projects

To participate in #GAImprove focus groups where gift cards are rewarded, then email the program manager [email protected]

Dr Sabry Gabriel and why pregnant women waddle

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in this episode “ I'm every woman,It's all in me

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Mrs Charneika Brown talks silly in this exciting episode

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You could even have a superb birthing experience.

Hear from somebody who had a good overall pregnancy, experience, good community support system, successful breast-feeding as a lactating mom and now enjoys motherhood.

Dr Afolabi- Brown speaks from a plastic surgeon’s perspective

Artificial lashes, extra digits and all such that women engage in debunked