Doctors Offer Free Lecture on How to Reduce the Risk of C-section and Ensure a Healthy Pregnancy and Childbirth

Norwalk, Conn. (PRWEB) June 06, 2012

Russell Turk, M.D., of Riverside Obstetrics & Gynecology in Greenwich, and Dr. Risa Sloves of Associates in Family Chiropractic and Natural Health Care in Norwalk, are giving a free pregnancy and childbirth lecture on wednesday, June 6th at 7:00 p.m. at the Rowayton Community Center, 33 Highland Road, Norwalk.

Dr. Turk, an obstetrician/gynecologist, and Dr. Sloves, a chiropractic doctor, will address strategies to help pregnant women achieve a healthy vaginal delivery, including specifics about what doctors and patients can do to avoid a C-section, achieve a low-intervention or natural childbirth and undergo VBAC (vaginal birth after Cesarean) safely.

In Connecticut, 34.6 percent of all babies are delivered by C-section, the seventh highest rate in the country. At some local hospitals, the average C-section rate tops 40 percent.

At the same time there is a growing demand among pregnant women for a more natural pregnancy and childbirth experience, and there seems to be backlash against excessive interventions, said Dr. Turk, a board certified OB/GYN who has been practicing medicine for 20 years. “We are seeing more and more patients who are educated about the fact that many Cesareans are not necessary, and who realize that many OB/GYNs pay lip service to the notion of doing VBACS,” he said. “Unfortunately some of these patients are choosing home births, and that is not the safest route especially if you've had a C-section.”

The goal of the lecture is to educate pregnant women about:

-how to achieve a low intervention or natural childbirth

-what patients and their doctors can do to avoid a Cesarean birth

-the pitfalls of labor induction, scheduled C-sections and the risks and benefits of natural childbirth

-how to prevent or limit the amount of discomfort such as low back pain experienced in pregnancy due to the added stresses on the body.

Dr. Sloves pointed out that pregnancy compromises the biomechanics of the spine and pelvis, and chiropractic care can help ensure the proper structural spinal and pelvic alignment and neurological function essential for a healthy, pain-free pregnancy and natural delivery, which benefits both the mom and newborn.  “Supplying women and their partners with this knowledge as well as tools that they can use including exercise, acupressure, and nutrition, can make this process even  more empowering as they will be more proactive in their own care,” she said.

Pregnant women are often dissuaded from trying complementary medical alternatives mainly because their doctors are not informed how to safely incorporate things like herbal medicine, chiropractic care, acupuncture—or even an exercise regimen—into a pregnancy. “My goal,” explained Dr. Sloves, “is to help educate and support moms-to-be in terms of having as pain free of a pregnancy as possible and empower them to strive for as natural of a labor and delivery as they desire.”

Speaker Bios:
Russell Turk, MD, is the founder of Riverside Obstetrics & Gynecology in Greenwich, Conn. His experience includes four years in private practice at the Center for Women's Health in Darien as well as eight years at Riverside OB/GYN. He is the former chief of service for Kaiser Permanente's northern Virginia area, where he supervised 30 physicians and 15 midwives and nurse practitioners. Dr. Turk is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and has special training and/or interest in high-risk obstetrics, the use of complementary and alternative medicine in obstetrics and gynecology, robotic surgery, advanced laparoscopy and hysteroscopy and chronic vulvar and vaginal pain. Dr. Turk is a 1986 graduate of Boston College. He received his medical degree in 1990 from Cornell University Medical College and he completed his OB/GYN training at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. He is an expert advisor for Babycenter.com and a former health care columnist for AOL.com. Dr. Turk has been a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists for 20 years. He is an associate professor in the OB/GYN department of Stamford Hospital, a Columbia University affiliate, where he is also involved in resident training. Dr. Turk's new blog, House Calls, can be found at http://www.riversideobgyn.com/blog.
 

Dr. Risa Sloves has been in private practice in Norwalk, Conn., with her husband, Dr. Mark Joachim, for over 20 years. She is currently 1 of 10 Chiropractic Physicians in Connecticut to have a 3 year post-doctorate degree and Board Certification in Maternity and Pediatric Care. Dr. Sloves focuses on providing exceptional chiropractic treatment for all aspects of pre- and post-natal care and she is certified in both the Webster and Bagnell Techniques as well as acupuncture. In addition, she provides pediatric chiropractic care including cranial sacral treatment for children of all ages and abilities.  She strives for women to have an educated and empowering pregnancy and delivery and encourages families to seek optimal health and wellness in a natural, non-invasive manner. Dr. Sloves is very involved in her community as she has been the Fairfield County Leader of the Holistic Moms Network since 2004 and in 2009 she founded Women of Wellness, an educational and support network for pre- and post-natal and early family care in Fairfield County. In 1986, Dr. Sloves graduated Phi Beta Kappa from The State University of New York at Binghamton with a B.S. in Biology. She received her Doctorate in Chiropractic in 1990 graduating Valedictorian, Summa Cum Laude from the National College of Chiropractic and then received her Diplomate from the International Council on Chiropractic Pediatrics with high honors from the New York College of Chiropractic.

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