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Obstetrician-Gynecologist

A physician who has completed specialty training in the care of pregnant women, the delivery of babies, and in the  treatment of diseases of the female reproductive system.


Oligohydramnios

Abnormally low amount of amniotic fluid. Causes of oligohydramnios may include ruptured  membranes (water bag), urinary tract abnormalities , fetal growth restriction, and postmaturity.


Oxytocin (Pitocin)

A hormone that stimulates the uterus to contract (uterotonic agent) , causes milk let down, and appears to influence pair bonding.  Oxytocin is made in the supraoptic nucleus and paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus in the brain and is released into the blood from the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland  during labor, nipple stimulation, and sex.

Synthetic oxytocin is used to begin or stimulate labor. The molecular structure of oxytocin is very similar to that of vasopressin (antidiuretic hormone).


Ovarian cyst

A fluid-filled cavity within or on the surface of one of the ovaries. A cyst that is produced as a result of the normal release of an egg from an ovary during the menstrual cycle is called a functional cyst .


Ovary

The female reproductive organs on each side of the uterus in the pelvis that make female hormones and eggs.


Omphalocele

A birth defect of the midline abdominal wall  that allows the bowel and /or liver to protrude into the base of the umbilical cord (a type of hernia). Omphalocele occurs in approximately 1 in 4,000 births , and is more accurately diagnosed after the process of physiologic gut herniation has completed at around 11 1/2 weeks' gestation. Omphalocele should be distinguished from gastroschisis, a hole in the abdominal wall to the right side of the umbilical cord, that allows bowel to float within amniotic fluid. Gastroschisis is not covered by a membrane.

Additional structural abnormalities are common with omphlocele. The risk of congenital syndromes is increased with omphalocele especially when the omphalocele is small. Congenital syndromes that have been associated with omphalocele include trisomy 18, trisomy 13, triploidy, Turner syndrome, Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome,Pentalolgy of cantrell, and OEIS complex.

The prognosis for omphalocele is generally good if the chromosomes are normal and there are no other abnormalities



 

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