Track 1: Gynecology and Obstetrics

Gynecology or gynaecolgy is a branch of medical practice that deals with all the aspects related to the female reproductive system and its care. The health conditions such as Amenorrhea, vaginal diseases, Dysmenorrhea, cancers related to the reproductive system, vaginitis, menorrhagia, infertility and related infections can be dealt by a gynecologist. Obstetrics is another branch of medical practice that is concerned with pregnancy, child birth and post-partum care. Both the branches are combined as one medical specialty named obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN). Based on the nature of the problem gynecologists and obstetricians can employ exact drug treatment with antibiotics, diuretics, anti-hypertensive and hormone modulating therapies.

• Amenorrhea
• Pregnancy
• Dysmenorrhea
• Obstetricians
• Anti-hypertensive
• Vaginal infections

Track 2: Sub Specialties of Gynecology

Gynecologic Oncology is a subspecialty that deals with the management of gynecological cancers such as ovarian, endometrial and cervical cancers. Maternal/Fetal Medicine is a subspecialty that deals with the cases such as fetal abnormalities and related maternal health care. It also manages the severe pregnancy complications. Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility is a subspecialty that helps to manage infertility and related endocrine conditions that affects the female reproductive system. Breast Disease is a branch that deals with the treatment of breast diseases. Pediatric gynaecology or pediatric gynecology is a subspecialty that deals with the diseases related to vagina, uterus and ovaries of infants. There are many other sub branches which include

• Female Reconstructive Pelvic Surgeon
• Complex Family Planning surgeon
• Minimally-Invasive Gynecologic Surgeon
• Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology
• Global Women’s Health

Track 3: Prenatal/Antenatal Care

Prenatal care can also be termed as antenatal care. It is considered to be an important preventive health care. This prenatal care typically suggests the medical checkups which are very important to manage the lifestyle including the maternal physiological changes, biological changes, nutritional requirements during the pregnancy. These checkups help to prevent the health problems and results in healthy mother and infant. Prenatal care helps to prevent conditions such as maternal deaths, birth defects, miscarriages, low birth weight and other related problems. The physical examinations of the prenatal care includes collection of medical history of mother, checking blood pressure along with height and weight, pelvic examination, blood and urine tests of mother and Doppler fetal heart rate monitoring. Along with these physical examinations Obstetric ultrasounds should be performed periodically. Ultrasound technique helps to detect the abnormalities in the fetus like Down syndrome, placental position and fetus size.

• Obstetric ultrasound
• Low birth weight
• Pelvic examination
• Doppler fetal heart rate monitoring
• Down syndrome

Track 4: Drugs Contraindicated During Pregnancy

A normal pregnancy lasts for about 38-40 weeks. This period can be divided into 3 phases like first, second and third trimesters. To have a healthy pregnancy one should follow basic guidelines like having healthy foods, physical exercise, prevent smoking and drinking. Along with these factors there are some drugs that are to be contraindicated during each trimester. The first category of drugs that are to be prevented includes narcotic drugs like cocaine, methamphetamine, caffeine and alcohol. Usage of these drugs may cause spontaneous abortion. Chronic use of barbiturates during pregnancy results in neonatal dependence. Likewise intake of carbamazepines causes neutral tube defects. The major contraindicated drug during pregnancy is thalidomide because it shows many fetal adverse effects such as limb malformations which is termed as teratogenicity is seen. It is totally banned in pharmacy markets due to its severe side effects. Warfarin is an anticoagulant that alters respiratory tract formation in fetus, CNS malformation and may increase the chances of bleeding. Still there are many medications like tetracycline, lithium, iodine, tamoxifen that are to be contraindicated during the pregnancy.

• Methamphetamine
• Tetracycline
• Thalidomide
• Warfarin
• Carbamazepine
• Tamoxifen

Track 5: Pregnancy and Child Birth

Pregnancy is the term that is used to define a period of time in which the fetus grows and develops inside the mother’s womb. This period usually lasts about 40 weeks or 9 months. Pregnancy period is divided in to 3 trimesters. The first trimester lasts for 1-12 weeks. It is the phase where the zygote is formed from cluster of cells and gets converted into fetus. The second trimester lasts up to 28 weeks. It is the phase where we can detect the birth defects of the fetus through ultrasound, footprints are formed and sleep wake cycle begins. The third trimester lasts up to 40 weeks. The infants born in the week 40 is considered to be a full-term baby. The pregnancy stage ends with the child birth or labor. The child birth is scheduled as three stages. The first stage is shortening or the opening of the cervix followed by child birth in the second stage which is followed by delivery of the placenta. The strong uterine contractions are induced by the hormone oxytocin.

• Trimesters
• Ultra sound scanning
• Uterine contractions
• Placenta
• Oxytocin hormone

Track 6: Infertility

Infertility is defined as the condition lack of ability of an organism to reproduce naturally. This infertility can arise due to male infertility, female infertility or may be due to mutual problems of both the partners. In women changes in the menstrual cycle can be tracked by detecting the changes in the cervical mucus or the basal body temperature. There are many causes for the onset of infertility like immune infertility, sexually transmitted diseases, genetic damages and other factors. Out of all those the immune infertility is the main reason for majority of couples. In the immune infertility production of Antisperm antibodies inhibits the capacitation as well as the acrosome reactions which results in the impaired fertilization. The factors which results in the formation of the Antisperm antibodies include disturbances in the immunoregulatory mechanism along with disturbed integrity of the mucous membrane. Sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea and syphilis are also responsible for the infertility.

• Basal body temperature
• Antisperm antibodies
• Immune infertility
• Syphilis
• Gonorrhea
• Immunoregulatory mechanism

Track 7: Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)

Assisted reproductive technology involves the primary medical procedure that helps to treat infertility. The medical procedures involved in it are intracytoplasmic sperm injections, in vitro fertilization process, and cryopreservation of the gametes and administration of the fertility medications. Ovulation induction is another assisted reproductive technique in which the ovarian follicles are stimulated by injecting the fertility medications and monitoring the development of eggs, follicle growth and production of reproductive hormones. When the eggs are mature enough then HCG injection is administered to initiate ovulation process.  The other therapies include mitochondrial replacement therapy and gamete intrafallopian transfer. There infertility medications are less in number and are very limited for males.

• Ovulation induction
• In vitro fertilization
• Cryopreservation
• Mitochondrial replacement therapy
• Human chronic gonadotropin
• Intracytoplasmic sperm injections

Track 8: Menorrhagia

Menorrhagia is also known as heavy menstrual bleeding. It is considered as an abnormal uterine bleeding characterized by excessive heavy menstrual flow.  The main causes for the onset of menorrhagia include structural irregularities in the reproductive tract, hormonal imbalances, anovulation and presence of tumor in the reproductive tract. In this condition menstrual bleeding lasts for more than 7 days with blood flow greater than 80ml. complications of the menorrhagia include anemia, fatigue, myalgia and shortness of breath. The medications that are used to treat menorrhagia depend upon the underlying cause. However the most commonly used medications include

• Birth control pills
• Tranexamic acid
• Danazol
• Progesterone
• Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)

Track 9: Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)

It is defined as the clinical condition in which hormone levels of a woman gets altered. It is characterized by increased levels of male hormones than normal which leads to imbalances in hormone levels and menstrual cycle is skipped. The most commonly used diagnostic tool for its detection is pelvic ultrasound. This syndrome is named so because of development of numerous ovarian cysts which are immature follicles. The main cause for the development of PCOS is the increased secretion of the androgenic hormone namely testosterone along with the combination of luteinizing hormone and presence of high levels of insulin. The common medications that are used to treat PCOS include the combination of oral contraceptives in combination of metformin. The oral contraceptives increase the production of sex hormone binding globulin which binds the free testosterone.

• Testosterone
• Luteinizing hormone
• Metformin
• Sex hormone binding globulins
• Oral contraceptives

Track 10: Amenorrhea

Amenorrhea is defined as the absence of menstrual cycle in women of the reproductive age. It can also be defined as the absences of menses for more than three months in women with regular menses. This is mostly seen in pregnant woman and lactating mothers. Primary amenorrhea can be defined by absence of secondary sexual characters and delayed puberty development. Secondary amenorrhea is caused due to disturbances in the hormonal balance from the hypothalamus and pituitary glands. Amenorrhea can also be caused due to underweight and presence of anorexia nervosa.   The common medications used to treat amenorrhea are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.

• Primary amenorrhea
• Secondary sexual characters
• Hypothalamus
• Anorexia nervosa
• Pituitary gland
• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI)

Track 11: Menopause

Menopause is defined as the stoppage of the menstrual cycle permanently. It can be stated as menopause if the menstrual periods stopped over a year. It can be usually seen at the age between 49 and 52 years. Menopause is due to decreased hormone production by the ovaries. It can also be seen in the surgical condition like removal of the uterus. The symptoms experienced during menopause include hot flashes, vaginal atrophy, and sweating, vaginal dryness and increased heart rate. Endometriosis may also progress into menopause. The main factors which causes menopause include progression of age, premature ovarian failure and surgical menopause which include oophorectomy (surgical removal of ovaries).

• Ovaries
• Removal of uterus
• Premature ovarian failure
• Oophorectomy
• Endometriosis
• Surgical menopause

Track 12: Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)

Hormone replacement therapy can also be named as the menopausal hormone therapy or the postmenopausal hormone therapy. The main aim of this therapy is to treat menopause. The main hormones used in the HRT are oestrogen and progesterone. Sometimes androgens such as testosterone are also used. Unchecked prescription of oestrogen therapy can cause endometrial thickening which can result in the progression of the cancer. However this hormone replacement therapy should be strictly contraindicated in the conditions such as severe liver diseases, coronary artery diseases, pregnancy, vaginal bleeding and aggressive breast, uterine or ovarian cancers.

• Post-menopausal hormone therapy
• Oestrogen therapy
• Progesterone
• Coronary artery disease
• Vaginal bleeding
• Endometrial thickening

Track 13: Gynecological Surgeries

Any surgery related to the female reproductive system performed by gynecologists can be termed as the gynecological surgeries. These surgeries are involved in the treatment of the tumor and related conditions of infertility. These gynecological surgeries can be done to any part of the female reproductive system including ovaries, fallopian tubules, uterus, vagina and vulva. The common gynecological surgeries are as follows

• Salpingoophorectomy
• Salpingectomy
• Endometrial biopsy
• Uterine myomectomy
• Vulvectomy
• Gynecologic ultrasonography
• Cervical Conization ( LEEP)

Track 14: COVID-19 and Pregnancy

The effect of the COVID infection on pregnancy is not clear due to the lack of sufficient clinical data. The available data expresses that the effect of COVID-19 infection in pregnant women is similar to that of the non-pregnant adults. However this infection shows a greater effect on labour. A woman with COVID-19 pregnancy will increase the risk of preterm labour. It is considered as the chief outcome of the COVID-19 infection. The studies also suggest that the human placenta contains factors that play a major role in the development of COVID-19.

• Preterm labour
• Human placenta
• COVID-19 infection
• Pregnancy
• Non-pregnant adults

Track 15: Advancements in Gynaecology and Obstetrics

Over a period there is much advancement in the imaging technology, drug therapy, endoscopic apparatus reproductive technologies related to gynaecology and obstetrics. Laparoscopic and hysteroscopy ablative surgeries are advanced such that they are replacing all major gyenic surgeries. Intrauterine progestogen releasing system is another advancement which is useful for both contraception and long term treatment of menorrhagia. Advancements in the drug therapy include Gonadotropin releasing hormone agonists and overcoming male factor infertility.

• Laparoscopy
• Levonorgestrel intrauterine system
• Progestogen
• Contraception
• Hysteroscopy
• Gonadotropin releasing hormone antagonist