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In the early part of your pregnancy, your care provider will do a series of tests to ensure that you are sexually healthy.  This involves both testing for infections like chlamydia and gonorrhea, as well as a discussion around herpes and blood testing for things like HIV. This is routine, and everyone is encouraged to do this.

If later in your pregnancy you are involved with a new partner, everybody is also encouraged to protect themselves and use condoms in order to avoid any infections. This is important because this can impact both your health and the health of your baby.

Additionally there is a specific treatment you can take at the end of your pregnancy, under the recommendation of your physician, to help prevent the possibilities of a herpes outbreak around the time of your birth. This is often quite helpful to reduce the possibility of spreading this infection to your child.

If you have any questions about sexual health during pregnancy, consult with your physician or your midwife about it.

If you have back pain, you may benefit from back surgery but it will depend on the nature of your back pain and what is causing it. Back pain caused by disc herniations, spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spine), or structural deformities may be relieved or corrected with surgery. If your back pain is not under control and you have questions about surgical options, ask your family doctor.

Granuloma annulare is caused by swelling or inflammation which happens deep in the skin and is long-lasting. If you are noticing concerning changes to your skin and are unsure of the cause, you should address this with your family doctor.