Your Health

By Richard Kochenburger, MD, MPH, FACOG

Becoming pregnant and giving birth, followed by nurturing and raising a child, can be one of the most joyful, fulfilling and important undertakings in a woman's life. Unfortunately, birth defects do occur in approximately 2- to 3-percent of all pregnancies with varying degrees of severity.

Addition Over Subtraction

With the arrival of a new year people often make resolutions to lose weight or give up something to be healthy, but all too often we fall short of our goals. What if we made a new kind of resolution to keep us on track? Achieving your goals without telling yourself "no" most of the time can often come down to a simple flip. For example:

Deciding to quit is a big step. Following through is just as important. Quitting alcohol or drugs, or both, isn't easy, but others have done it, and you can too. Your health matters!

Ask yourself

Men, how many times in the past year have I had 5 drinks or more in a day?
Women, how many times in the past year have I had 4 drinks or more in a day?

Brown & Toland physician Milana Dolezal, MD, MSci, is a board-certified oncologist and hematologist who treats women's malignancies (breast and gynecologic cancers) and gastrointestinal (GI) cancers at Pacific Hematology and Oncology Associates in San Francisco. Dr.