Pavilion for Women's Blog

One of the questions I’m commonly asked by patients with twin pregnancies is “how much weight should I gain?” Well, to be honest, there is no clear-cut answer, nor is there an absolute consensus as to the “ideal amount” a woman carrying twins should gain. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) put forth recommendations in 2009 outlining the optimal cumulative weight gain by term in twin pregnancies.

At Texas Children's Hospital, in addition to the care and safety of our patients, we also view the safety of everyone visiting and working in our hospital to be a top priority. That's why before opening outpatient services at the Pavilion for Women, we conducted realistic, emergency response simulation sessions to give our team valuable hands-on response experience in our new facility. Simulation is a methodology that can not only be used for educating and training, but also for testing new patient care environments, equipment and processes.

Many moms aren't aware that the first gynecology visit for their teen daughter is actually recommended for sometime between the ages of 13 and 15 years old. You probably had your first visit sometime around going to college. Hopefully, your experience was a good one.  

November 2006 will be a month that I will never forget.

The memory of that day remains vivid even today. My wife and I sat nervously in the waiting room, while our 2-month-old son underwent neurosurgery for craniosynostosis. It was the longest 4 hours of our lives, and impacted the way I'll practice medicine forever. Although well informed about the diagnosis, treatments and outcomes, the lack of control was killing me. Our first child had always been with at least one of us — and never out of our sight. Now, at 2 months old, I had left him in the OR with complete strangers and unable to know what was happening second to second. And then suddenly, the double doors opened and out came a bed. There was a small being, asleep, with a swollen face, and a massive head dressing with a yellow ribbon.