Take the Next Step with Us

“I never thought parenthood was for me and that was no secret to my family or my friends," says 31-year old tax accountant Jasmine.

But for many like Jasmine, knowing what you want and getting it aren't always the same.

“Patients are expressing anxiety about the possibility of future restrictions on medication abortions, morning-after pills like Plan B, or even routinely used methods of birth control such as intrauterine devices, IUDs, implanted to prevent pregnancy,” says Natasha Schimmoeller, MD, MPH, an obstetrician and gynecologist in the Family Planning Program of the Cedars-Sinai Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. "They are expressing serious concern about their ability to have control over their reproductive health."

Watching the growing number of states looking to ban abortion or regulate access to the morning-after pill, moved the needle for me.

Jasmine

Jasmine knew since the age of 10 that she never wanted to have children. "When I was dating my husband, we often discussed my choice to remain child-free. I had an aversion to hormonal birth control and serious side effects when I tried using a non-hormonal IUD, so I was looking for a permanent way to avoid getting pregnant.”

Which is why earlier this year, she had both of her fallopian tubes removed by Schimmoeller in an outpatient procedure called a laparoscopic bilateral salpingectomy.

It's irreversible, but because the ovaries and uterus are left intact there is no change in hormone levels or menstrual periods. And that makes Jasmine pleased with her choice—and the timing.

“Watching the growing number of states looking to ban abortion or regulate access to the morning-after pill, moved the needle for me,” says Jasmine.

Women have a 50% higher risk of developing abnormal heart rhythm. So when Claudia Huerta began experiencing fatigue and dizziness, she came to us. Now, after her AFib/flutter catheter ablation, she's lost 80 pounds, takes no heart medications and competes in high-level bodybuilding competitions.

“We were the first mother and daughter to visit the clinic together,” says Elisa Schoenfeld, a child development specialist and mom. She's talking about the BRCA Ovarian Previvor Clinic at Cedars-Sinai.

Elisa, who is 56, was tested for BRCA gene variants five years ago, with results showing what is called a 'variant of uncertain significance.' “This was a variant that they didn't know about. Most of these variants are considered to be negative, meaning no increased cancer risk,” Elisa says. “Five years later, my genetic counselor at Cedars-Sinai called to tell me that my particular variant was studied more and is now reclassified as positive.”

It gives me peace of mind and I feel confident in the advice I am receiving.

Elisa

That led her daughter Amira, a 34-year-old speech-language pathologist, to get tested, with results that also showed a variant of uncertain significance.

“The BRCA genes are massive and have many variants,” says B.J. Rimel, MD, the gynecological oncologist who oversees the clinic, part of Cedars-Sinai Cancer and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. “Some are harmless—like a typo where you can still read the word—and produce a normal protein. Some produce a nonfunctional protein that increases cancer risk. There are others we aren’t yet certain about, but as we do more testing, we can reclassify those variants as either benign or risk-increasing and let those patients know.”

Those tests led the pair on two different, but parallel journeys.

“At this point in my life, I'm not looking to do anything as significant as what my mom did,” Amira says. “For now, I feel like I’m doing everything I can to keep tabs on this in the best way possible. It gives me peace of mind and I feel confident in the advice I am receiving.”

Often times, new mothers seeking psychotherapy expect an immediate fix. "The reality is, there are good weeks and bad weeks," says Dr. Eynav Accortt, clinical psychologist at Cedars-Sinai. But taking baby steps is the path to improvement. They're the way, "Back to being the best mom you can be."