First pregnancy I had a delivered early what are my chances for the second pregnancy?

I had to deliver my first baby @ 34 wks on hospital bedrest. How likely will I have to do this again with my second pregancy? Also since I delivered a healthy baby the first time, is there a chance I'll miscarry this time or will I likely have another healthy pregnancy?

With my first, my son was born 3 weeks early.  With my second, I went 2 days over my due date and then begged for an induction. 

Every pregnancy is different, unless there is a problem with you physically that caused your first to be born early, for example if you have an incompetent cervix.

There is always a chance for miscarriage, but again, unless you have some physical problem that makes you prone to miscarriage, the chance for miscarrying isn't any greater this time than any other time.

It's normal to freak out and stress!  Just remember every pregnancy is different, and take good care of yourself.  That's all you can do.

Is there evidence that pregnancy causes the mother to develop an autoimmune disease?

My grandmother and a cousin both developed severe rheumatic autoimmune diseases after pregnancy, when being previously fine before pregnancy.  I have not been able to find any additional evidence of pregnancy causing an autoimmune disease to develop, but am wondering if anyone knows of a link between the two, either clinical or anecdotal. 

I realize that pregnancy has effects on women who already have autoimmune diseases, but am trying to weigh the risks of developing an illness from being pregnant.

What happens is that the disease is not active, but there, and flares after the delivery. Autoimmune diseases are "triggered" and often dormant.

I have RA. It was triggered by strep throat at age 27. I probably got it at about age 23, when it was assumed I had carpal tunnels from being a pastry chef. Turns out, after having the electrical test for carpal tunnels, I didn't have carpal tunnels. I was experiencing the beginning of my RA those years back, without the full-blown symptoms I had once the strep throat came along. Now I have the full-blown RA.

Keep in mind that giving birth is a traumatic event to your body and trauma can cause an autoimmune disease. People have been triggered into RA by car accidents, believe it or not.

Will home pregnancy tests still work a few months or ever all the way through the pregnancy?

What I mean is, is what they are testing for only present in the first month or so of the pregnancy, or will they still work throughout the pregnancy or at least in the first half or so? Would pregnant women who were 2, 4, 7, 8, and 9 months pregnant get accurate results if they used a home pregnancy test?

Pregnancy tests work based upon the high amounts of hormones we have present in our bodies during pregnancy. They work all through out pregnancy.

What health care problem should I address in a statistics assignment?

I have to make a power point about a health care problem for a statistics class and include a frequency table, which means I need actual numbers, not percentages as most statistic information is portrayed. Does anyone know what would be a good health-related topic where I could find actual numbers easily? Or any good websites for health-related data?


The Robert Woods Johnson Foundation is a research think tank.  They have all kinds of references to interesting research around health care and health reform.  With a little digging, you may be able to contact some of the researchers.

WebMD is another useful source for anything and everything health care.

What health problems are needed in order to qualify for gastric bypass surgery?

What types of health problems are needed to qualify to have gastric bypass surgery? Do you only qualify if you have severe health problems caused by this or could you qualify if you have smaller health problems like knee arthritis & breathing problems? Most of my family is obese and have heart disease, sleep apnea. Would they take that into consideration? My sister had gastric bypass surgery with a starting weight at 208 and is down to 128. I don't think she had any medical problems due to her obesity.

Usually you have to have a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 40 or more to qualify for gastric bypass. If you have a BMI of over 35, sometimes you can qualify if you have significant co-morbidities such as diabetes or sleep apnea. First and foremost, "they" look at how morbid obesity is affecting you, however, your family history may be taken into account, if close relatives are morbidly obese and have health problems relating to obesity.

What reputable health insurance companies are out there?

My mom doesn't have health insurance and my job doesn't give insurance to family members. 

I would like to pay monthly to a health insurance company so my mom could get health check up when she needs it.

Do you know any health insurance companies that can accept low monthly payments since I don't get paid that much?

We live in northern california.

Well, if she's 40 and perfectly healthy, it's going to cost her about $500 a month to have a low/no deductible plan that covers checkups. 

You BUY it on a month to month basis.  If you want low monthly payments, you have to cut the coverage - like take a $10,000 deductible.  Or higher.  That would cut payments down to maybe $200 a month or less. 

The older she is, the less healthy she is, the more it costs.

Your best bet, is to find a local, independent agent, who can help you balance cost with coverage.

What is the difference between public health and community health?

What is the difference between public health and community health?

  A. Public health involves the health of the nation, and community health involves doctors and other health professionals in a community.

  B. Public health protects the health of everyone, and community health protects the health of all those in a particular community.

  C. Public health gives free health care to individuals, and community health keeps the food, water supply, and general environment healthy for the community.

  D. Public health is concerned with the health of individuals, and community health is concerned with overall health statistics.

A. Public health looks at everyone from all over. We (I'm an epidemiologist) are concerned with things that may be coming down the pike and hit all of us (like bird flu, etc.). Community health mostly involves doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals that tailor interventions to a particular community's needs, and they generally don't plan out for "the bigger picture", although they do a heck a job in their locales, since they know it better.