Dear Doc Kate 3

As always, the lovely Dr Kate is in the house ready and waiting to answer all your medical concerns. This month she discusses the problem of over-produced prostaglandins and the dreaded period pain!

Dr Kate specialises in women's reproductive health and is a representative of MSIA - Marie Stopes International Australia. As the resident doctor at FEMAIL, she is here to advise and answer all your medical queries.

MSIA is part of the http://www.mariestopes.org.au Marie Stopes International partnership which works in 39 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and Europe. Collectively they are a movement advocating for reproductive rights and providing services that improve and save peoples lives, making a real difference. Marie Stopes in Australia, plays a pivotal role in facilitating this within the Asia Pacific region.

So if you have a question or a concern - go to:

Dear Doctor




Dear Anjana,

Breasts getting softer is a normal part of getting older. Although you may find that should you become pregnant that your breasts will go through another change related to the pregnancy and childbirth. In terms of firming up or increasing the size of the breasts - there are exercises that you can do that increase the size of the muscles underneath the breasts (called pectorial muscles). This will not necessarily increase the size of the breasts, but can make them a little bit firmer and can increase the size of your chest - as the muscles get bigger. The basic exercise for building up pectorial muscles is like a breast-stroke action, or bringing your elbows together in front of you - against a weight.




Dear slightly worried mum of two,

I'll answer your questions in reverse! You should go for a check up. As your periods are irregular in terms of timing and amount you should see your doctor in order to rule out anything serious that may be causing this, and also discuss ways of making your periods more regular. Extensive exercise and emotional stress can be a cause of irregular periods. If the other causes are ruled out then you may have to look at the amount of exercise and stress you have in order to address this problem.




Dear Curious.
Although a simple question - I'm afraid it is not so simple to answer. Aredia can be used for people with breast cancer to help control the levels of calcium in their body. As to why your friend is receiving this and not chemotherapy depends on a lot of factors. The most important thing is that your friend is clear about what her treatment is and why. She is the best person to ask - and she can also ask her doctors should she still want to know more. The next most important thing is that your friend will need support in terms of how she is coping with breast cancer emotionally. By the very fact that you've been concerned enough to seek out this information, it is obvious that you are caring friend, good friends are just as important as good medicine.




Dear Di,

To start with genetic disorders can be picked up by blood tests and also via ultrasound. Other tests can also be performed like amniocentesis (sampling the amniotic fluid) but diagnosis can be made without this test. It is not clear exactly what disease your friend may be referring to, but a lack of amniotic fluid can certainly be a result of a baby having kidney problems. You are also right to wonder if babies can live without fluid. Babies do need fluid to live - and a lack of fluid can result in growth and lung problems. How your friends' baby is affected by this will depend on the how serious the disease is.