ALERT

Weather Closure

Our office will be closed Friday, January 10th for winter weather. If you have an emergency call 911. If you have an urgent OB/GYN issue, call to leave a message with the answering service for the on call physician.

Author: Sparks & Favor

A Unique Heart Disease Risk Factor For Women

As we come to the end of Heart Month, we’d like to remind women about unique heart-health risks you may face decades before the menopause years. In the U.S., cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death during pregnancy and the postpartum period (the weeks after delivery). 

An essential part of your pregnancy-related healthcare visits, both before conception and throughout your pregnancy, is a measure of your blood pressure. If your blood pressure is not normal, we often recheck it again later in your visit. James Martin, M.D., chair of the Pregnancy and Heart Disease…

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The Pap Test–Finding Cervical Cancer Early

The Pap Test Changes Cervical Cancer Survival
Most women regard a Pap Test as a routine part of their reproductive health care. Sometimes you don’t even notice the moment during your exam when your doctor swabs or brushes the cervix to collect cells from its surface. This small sample of cells is sent to a lab where it is examined to look for pre-cancerous or cancerous cells within the sample.

In 1943, Dr. George Nicholas Papanicolaou published his description of a simple procedure that could distinguish normal from abnormal cells taken from swabs of the vagina and cervix…

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5 Heart-Warming Resolutions for the New Year 2023

Happy New Year 2023! Over the years, we’ve posted many greetings in this space suggesting healthy resolutions to start the year. The typical list includes weight-loss, smoking cessation, exercise, preventive healthcare, and so on—worthwhile goals for any new year.

This year we decided to change it up a bit. We begin 2023 with resolutions to make you happy. While none of these “resolutions” can minimize the burden of life’s serious challenges, they might offer you a few more smiles, moments of fun, chances to relax, or personal satisfaction over the next twelve months. Our list got…

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Your Obstetrician’s Holiday Tips for Expectant Moms

The holidays bring a dramatic change in our usual routines. For most of us the festivities include more food and perhaps alcohol, travel, large gatherings of friends and family, more stress, and less rest. We wouldn’t have it any other way! But if you are pregnant, many holiday traditions require some special consideration. Here are a few tips to help our expectant moms enjoy the holidays safely…

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We Appreciate Your Feedback

Online reviews help us to improve. And women seeking a new provider often find online reviews helpful. Click below if you’d like to leave a Google Review for our practice.
To leave a review for you individual doctor, you can find her page by clicking the “About Us” tab in the page menu above.
Leave a Review…

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August is National Immunization Awareness Month

Are you planning to become pregnant?
Will you have contact with an infant this year?
Are you attending college?
Have you reached age 60?
Are you planning foreign travel?
Most of us are very aware that children need immunizations to protect them from contagious diseases and to enroll them in school. Each summer, moms plan visits to the pediatrician to update the important blue slip, the Alabama Certificate of Immunization. But our need for vaccinations extends beyond childhood. The questions above are reminders of just some of the situations for which adult women need to consider their immunizations.
We know…

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What Influences a Woman’s Reproductive Biological Clock?

On average, an American woman in 1970 was 21.4 years old at the birth of her first child. By 2006 a woman’s average age at her first delivery had risen to 25. And by 2014 it had crept up further to just over 26. During that same period the percent of first births to women over 35 increased from 1 in 100 to 1 in 12! The average U.S. woman giving birth (any child) is now 30 (2019), compared with 27 in 1990. As women choose more and more frequently to postpone childbearing, many of them begin…

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5 Reasons Your OB Doctor Wants You to Think About Your Birth Plan

All the physicians at Sparks & Favor welcome birth plans. Whether you have a written plan or just a mental note of a few items, it helps us to know what is important to you.
A True Birth Plan Story
Many years ago, Dr. Sparks and his wife looked forward to the birth of their first child. Dr. Sparks, an army physician, had just received his new duty assignment to the 130th Station Hospital in Heidelberg, Germany. They would travel over a month before the baby’s due date, get settled, and then spend some time enjoying this beautiful city…

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Our Patient Portal Makes Your Ob-Gyn Care More Convenient

We hope you will register for our Patient Portal if you are not yet registered. It gives you a secure, reliable way to reach us. (Example: In the event of phone service interruptions). It also gives us a reliable way to communicate Personal Health Information to you. Our PORTAL is HIPAA compliant, so your privacy is protected. We cannot use regular email (outside of the PORTAL) to send you personal information about your care.

 

We may not be able to reach you by phone in timely circumstances, and normal SMS (text) messages containing Personal Health Information are prohibited. We do…

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From Dr. Favor–March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

We understand that, through a large part of her life, her gynecologist may be the only physician a woman sees every year. While our focus is your reproductive health, we want you to be well-informed about other health issues you may face now or in the future. Colorectal cancer is one of these risks.
Despite the fact that these cancers are highly preventable and very treatable in earlier stages, they are the third leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. for both men and women. Factors that increase your risk of colon cancer include:

Age
Personal and…

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