Associate Professor of OBGYN. MFM Clinician-Researcher: placenta & maternal cardiometabolic health. Elderly Millennial. Domestic Gorgon. Opinions are my own.
Tilda Swinton: I’m perfectly healthy after multiple COVID infections & refuse to wear a mask on set
Also Tilda Swinton: I have long COVID & can’t remember my lines (or apparently, anything else)
If you’re pregnant - in ANY trimester- I’m pleading with you to get the COVID-19 vaccine. It is safe. It is effective. It will keep you & your fetus out of the ICU.
I honestly don’t know if my heart can handle watching another pregnant person clinging to life 💔
My grandparents have COVID. My grandpa is currently hospitalized. My grandma said, “we’ve been so careful. I just don’t understand how this happened after all this time.”
I told her it’s because everyone else has stopped being careful. Whatever happened to caring for our elders?
I’ve now encountered 2 patients who are willing to decline blood transfusion because the blood supply is “contaminated” with COVID vaccine.
Anti-vaxxers & anti-maskers say that *we* are living in fear but it is people like this who are truly afraid. How did it come to this?
Anyone saying that I should be sympathetic to a hospital CEO travelling to see their family in another country during a pandemic should have to volunteer to tell my patients that they can't see their baby in the NICU for 14 days because of a COVID exposure
Getting repeatedly infected with a novel virus with pathogenic effects on multiple organ systems & then wondering why everyone is chronically absent from work & school 🤷🏼♀️
Here’s the thing about the Ford Govt:
When thousands of elders died: they didn’t care
When healthcare & essential workers died: they didn’t care
When pregnant people died: they didn’t care
Now that children have started dying: they still don’t care
They. Just. Don’t. Care.
It’s funny how, despite COVID being “over,” there are two current outbreaks in our hospital system, we can’t keep the cafeteria open overnight because of “staffing issues”, & my secretary is currently off sick 🤔
Stillbirths are devastating. Shame on YOU for spreading lies & rumours. COVID-19 infection doubles (& with delta variant may quadruple) the risk of stillbirth. COVID-19 vaccination is the best way to protect pregnant people from severe illness & death
I was a residency program director for 5 years & have participated in many rounds of CaRMS interviews. My advice to medical students like Kevin is to avoid publicly insulting & demeaning the people who may make decisions about your residency match.
Recently, I spoke to a referring physician on the phone who referred to a patient as “histrionic.”
Please, never ever use that word to describe someone, especially not a woman who is in pain.
Facts:
-Cervical dysplasia is caused by HPV (a vaccine-preventable disease)
-There is no such thing as cervical dysphasia (dysphasia is a speech disorder. I’ve seen a lot of cervices & none of them can talk)
-COVID-19 vaccines don’t cause cervical dysplasia or aphasia
Everyone who is shocked & outraged at the abortion ban in Texas needs to realize that electing a Conservative federal government in the upcoming
#Elxn44
may jeopardize the reproductive rights of Canadians
The OBGYN consultant that night was Dr. Ray Vaughan. Many had the privilege of working with him as residents & colleagues at St. Paul’s Hospital before his death in 2005.
As I struggle with burnout & fatigue, thinking of Dr. Vaughan compels me to practice with kindness
If Danielle Smith really cared about children & “parental rights” she would have ensured that daycare food suppliers were adequately regulated & inspected so that babies wouldn’t die from E. coli.
Never forget that more than 6000 indigenous children died in residential schools.
Never forget that more than 4000 indigenous women & girls have been murdered and/or gone missing in the past 30 years.
We must remember, mourn & account for all of them.
We are pleased to say that we’ve had no outbreaks of puerperal fever since our obstetricians started washing their hands after performing autopsies on decaying corpses. We have now removed the requirement for handwashing between autopsies & vaginal exams until further notice.
Clinical update: Masks - Recently we re-introduced mask wearing for everyone in clinical areas. We are pleased to say that we have had no outbreaks during this time and sickness and respiratory illness rates have now dropped significantly…
You all masking? (I’m too British to get away with saying y’all.)
If you can’t afford masks, see
@covidactionmap
and . Check both to see if there are mask blocs in your area.
Some have tests and lend air filters, far-UVC torches or CO2 monitors.
“This study offers strong evidence that COVID-19 is a systemic disease that affects multiple organs rather than strictly an upper respiratory illness.”
SARS-CoV-2 can damage mitochondrion in heart, other organs, study finds
@chrisholly71
Exactly! I realized after I’d posted that the screenshots were out of order. The fact that she complained last year about how she struggled with post-COVID syndrome & now minimizes the impact makes it all the more egregious. Or maybe she just doesn’t remember 🤷🏼♀️
When I was a 2nd year resident I was called down to the ER to see a patient with a possible ruptured ectopic pregnancy. From the foot of the bed, I could see that she was unstable & after a quick assessment determined that she needed emergency surgery
“First he punched me in the face and said, ‘I know you. You’ve been giving the vaccine to everyone,’ ” said Shaker.
“I was wearing the pharmacy shirt and that was his motive. That I’m giving the vaccine”
Horrifying attack in Kitchener ON:
Previous COVID infection was associated with an increased risk of RSV requiring medical attention both for children 0-5 AND specifically in infants 0-1.
More evidence that “immunity debt” isn’t real & that COVID infection puts kids at risk of worse outcomes from other pathogens
Preprint: RSV linked to previous COV'ID infection.
2021 RSV wave delayed, but as high as expected ⬇️. Catch-up infections do not appear to be a good explanation for the all-time RSV high in 2023. Also, not plausible for 0-1 year olds anyway (bottom figure)
The Conservative Party is fighting with the media again, and in so doing are trying to claim the mantle of victims of the movement the party is wholeheartedly embracing. It’s risible, absurd, serious, and shameless. And it will get worse.
Recently I overheard a healthcare worker say that they had a “head cold” but were okay to be working at the hospital because the people they caught the cold from had been tested for COVID & were negative.
This pandemic is never going to end, is it?
I am genuinely afraid for them.
There is a potential for serious harm, particularly for pregnant people & parents of infants & small children.
But they believe we want to “poison” them. I don’t know how to fix this.
I’ve stopped trying to counsel unvaccinated pregnant patients to receive the COVID vaccine because at this point, nothing I can say will change their minds. It only alienates them further.
The problem now is them avoiding routine care because of their fears.
Interesting personal anecdote:
I had my first COVID infection in June of this year & had struggled with significant PEM since then. I received the XBB booster (& flu vaccine) this past week & my symptoms have now completely resolved.
I feel better than I have in months!
Some believe that we will sneak COVID vaccine into their bodies while under anaesthesia or disguised as other medications.
Some believe in “vaccine shedding” & are afraid to be in a room with vaccinated people. They are therefore avoiding all in-person medical care.
The Banff Wildlife Crossings Project was implemented in Banff, Alberta. Combined with fencing to keep the animals off the road, the structures have reduced animal-vehicle collisions in the area by more than 80% (>96% for elk and deer alone)
[read more: ]
“Pregnant people should get sick with respiratory infections more often” was not part of my OBGYN or immunology training.
But what do I know, as a maternal fetal medicine specialist & researcher in placental immunology 🤷🏼♀️
This morning a colleague came into our clinic work room to give report. Later, they returned to let us know that they’d been at an event where multiple people had tested + for COVID. Hours later: they also tested +
This is why I continue to mask, even in non-clinical areas.
Whenever people denigrate birth by caesarean I ask them if they know why the chainsaw was invented. When I tell them they often don’t believe me until they look it up themselves.
Can you believe that this chainsaw is an example of a pre-modern day obstetrical instrument?
The hand-cranked saw was used to create a symphysiotomy, which allowed for expansion of the birth canal to enable delivery of a ‘stuck’ baby.
This was done with no anesthesia.
Today in ridiculously bad takes by an acting MOH: blaming the healthcare workforce crisis on the dismissal of a tiny number of hospital employees who refused COVID vaccines. In London, this was 0.5% of employees, <0.3% having clinical roles
The man who murdered Dr. Elana Fric was no one’s “saviour.” He had abused her for years before murdering her while their children were in the next room. He then subjected her body to horrific indignities before returning to work as though nothing had happened.
I saw this extraordinarily beautiful poppy this evening while we walked the dog. Isn’t it amazing to live in a time when one can capture a photo of something so fleeting & share it with the world without thinking twice about how that is even possible?
Just sitting here thinking about how 6/12 birthing unit nurses called in sick this past Thursday & also how it’s so great that there isn’t an airborne infectious disease going around anymore & we should all stop wearing masks at work 😒
An acting medical officer of health here in Ontario is choosing today to compare vaccine mandates to sexual assault.
As a physician & as a survivor, I am appalled.
I thought of this overnight when a nurse called about a FHR tracing that concerned her. She gave a lengthy & apologetic explanation of why she was calling me, second-guessing herself in the process.
I told her, “it’s okay. I’ll be right there.”
Watching the events unfolding in the US, I’ve heard many people say that this would never happen in Canada. But it could. These types of people are all around us. Some of them are nurses, others are professors, & some are MPPs
In 20 years, my children won’t care how many PubMed citations I have or what my H-index is.
What they will care about is how I stood up for my patients, for vulnerable people & for frontline workers.
I’ve been thinking about that a lot.
To those who have been saying “COVID is just like a cold” I don’t know what kind of colds you’ve been having…this is more like an unholy hybrid of influenza & the worst sinusitis I’ve ever had.
This charlatan has misused a rapid COVID-19 test by flooding it & then tilting it so that the indicator dye runs down the middle. He then conveniently stops the video…
I’m embarrassed to see people who call themselves scientists sharing material from this individual
Tap water is testing positive for Covid!
Rapid antigen tests should be recalled immediately
Asymptomatic testing for any respiratory virus has no proven benefit but leads to lost income, lost jobs or even incarceration of you and your loved ones in "voluntary" isolation sites
In a rare moment of self-awareness, Jordan Peterson uses an image of a fictional character who develops psychosis & attempts to murder his wife & child, to represent himself.
Dear non-OB colleagues,
Please stop telling MFMs what medications you consider “unsafe” in pregnancy because of lack of data. Literally nothing has been tested specifically on pregnant people. We are used to this uncertainty & do this counselling every. single. day.
Today would have been my ex-husband’s 52nd birthday. He died suddenly this past summer. He was a violent, abusive narcissist who poisoned every relationship he touched.
His death has been a step toward healing for many, including his own family.
@sens2win
@The_Rae_Girl
Please tell me you realize this is a joke and completely made up…Just like the stories of people donating 20-50 dollars and having their assets frozen.
I am a physician & scientist but still cannot figure out the pathophysiology of Raynaud’s phenomenon. My fingers have been doing this since I was 15 years old & I have been worked up for autoimmune diseases multiple times. My circulation just seems to be a moody bitch.
I just got a note from a pharmacist who refused to fill my patient’s prescription for a low-dose combined OCP because it is “not safe if someone breastfeeds” while taking it.
Seriously. Just fire me right off the planet right now.
I was a victim of intimate partner violence during my first pregnancy & postpartum.
I was an OBGYN resident at the time.
The counsellor I saw at student health told me that I needed to get out but that leaving during pregnancy would increase the likelihood of homicide.
Domestic violence is more common among pregnant women than preeclampsia and gestational diabetes. I was lucky to survive my pregnancy.
Tune in to “When Violence Escalates During Pregnancy” to hear my story.
#SheIsYourNeighbor
@WomensCrisisSWR
Congenital syphilis in Ontario at levels not seen in decades
Based on local experience I would recommend re-screening EVERY pregnant person for syphilis in the 3rd trimester. The real challenge is reaching people who present late (or not at all) to care
Look everyone: the gender pay gap in medicine doesn’t actually exist! His wife CHOOSES to make less money doing her silly little office work while he’s working in the important hospital!
“Let’s have the conversation” is an anti-choice dog whistle.
Next time you go to the polls & think about voting for a conservative/right wing candidate, remember how smug you were when Roe v Wade was overturned in the USA and then think about why that happened.
Friendly reminder that one of the newly-announced Toronto mayoral candidates has engaged in targeted harassment of female physicians. I had to block him last year because his supporters came after me too.
This person’s brother-in-law knowingly infected a 37 week pregnant woman with RSV. Now her husband wants her to forgive him.
I just…can’t even.
Labor with pneumonia, parenting advice from Care and Feeding.
Health supremacy is another example of what I’m referring to when I talk about “casual fascism.”
Discounting & sacrificing the lives & experiences of the elderly, people with disabilities & chronic illnesses is health supremacy. It is also a slippery slope to eugenics.
“Fascism needs to be curbed wherever it rears its head. Just as we should be radically intolerant of white supremacist or male supremacist ideology, anti-fascists should…stand up against health supremacist ideology”
Although COVID is allegedly “over” & masks are optional at my hospital, there is currently a COVID outbreak on the nephrology unit.
I’m so looking forward to the upcoming H5N1 pandemic & the “fall respiratory season” which seems to last all year.
For those who maintain that “Lockdowns are bad for kids’ mental health...”
Just remember that having a parent die from COVID-19 is also bad for mental health.
@RameshReddyER1
I’ve been an OBGYN for over a decade. The trauma I’ve seen to women from healthcare providers using stigmatizing language & discounting their experiences is unacceptable. Stigmatizing language has no place in our practice.
The rise in type 1 DM has nothing to do with “lockdowns.” It has even happened in countries such as Sweden where no COVID mitigations were enforced. Type 1 DM is often triggered by viral infections. “Immunity debt” doesn’t exist.
Excellent thread by
@drclairetaylor
This has gone too far now.
A 27% rise in childhood diabetes is significant.
To infer that lockdowns and this apparent new phenomenon of immunity debt is responsible is just taking Covid minimising too far.
Covid-19 is a risk factor for type 1 diabetes
Here's Ontario's
@AMAPCEO
union claiming "the bodies of 215 children [have been] discovered at the grounds of the Kamloops Indian Residential School." Actually, precisely zero bodies have been found. But if
@AMAPCEO
has found bodies, it should tell police.
Instead, he listened to my (probably panicky) history & findings.
He simply said, “It’s okay. I’ll be right there.”
Minutes later, he was helping me transfer the patient to the OR for a life-saving laparotomy.
More fun facts:
-Shingles is also a vaccine-preventable disease
-Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic infection caused by contact with cat feces, undercooked meat & soil. Latent toxoplasmosis may be associated with behavioural changes
I can get a baby out in 43 seconds at a crash c-section, repair complex perineal lacerations & perform operative births using both forceps & vacuum.
However, I cannot for the life of me figure out how to pour bagged milk without spilling it everywhere.
#DidntGrowUpInOntario
All the folks freaking out about how difficult it is to use & interpret rapid COVID-19 tests have obviously never taken a home pregnancy test. Welcome to the experience of agonizing over whether or not there is a thin pink line present…
I just talked to my grandma & was thrilled to hear that she & my grandpa both received the Moderna vaccine this past week...from their family physician!
This is the mask that
@TVDSB
issued to my 6 year-old. It is big enough to fit me (therefore too loose/large for my child to wear), & has a strong chemical odour. It’s apparently antibacterial & UV resistant, clearly useful qualities against a respiratory virus in winter 😒
Me: spends 11 years in Twitter educating people about women’s health, reproductive science & other topics I’m passionate about
Also me: makes a bad pun about an ice cream truck. Goes viral.
😬
On my way to Toronto to attend tomorrow’s
@OntariosDoctors
Beyond Burnout Conference! Keeping myself safe from COVID & poor air quality by wearing a mask on the train is an act of self-care.
Post-post-call is actually the worst feeling. The sleep-deprivation euphoria is gone, leaving behind nothing but fatigue & body pain. It also reminds me that as young as I think I still am, I have been abusing my body with 24-hour call for nearly 20 years.
Health Canada approves RSV vaccine for maternal immunization
This is a really-exciting development. Implementation is the challenging next step with the aim being rollout in the winter of 2024-25
@ChuckWurster
I will continue to attend all births wearing a mask for the remainder of my career as well. Honestly, I can’t believe masking in the delivery room wasn’t mandatory previously. It’s safer for both patients & birth attendants!
“To ally with the disability community: Stop minimizing & denying the pandemic; talk about the pandemic in the present tense, because it’s not over; wear a mask(if you can), & contact your elected representatives if there is a proposed mask ban in your state or city”
@SFdirewolf
“When asked how serious those beliefs were [the friend] said they weren’t “radical” & described them as “mild.”
“He was very opposed to certain UWaterloo initiatives…noting that it was the same as a “normal Conservative man.”
A NORMAL CONSERVATIVE MAN.
I’ve been in medicine for over 20 years.
I’ve delivered babies, prevented cervical cancer & helped thousands of people.
I’m happy to be “lectured to” on gender, sexuality, & inclusive language from people of lived experience & those who have modern knowledge of biology.