Shira has since relapsed and is undergoing a new chemotherapy treatment in hopes of entering into remission. This time, she will need a stem cell donor, and is desperately seeking a match within the community.

In hopes of helping Shira find a donor, Healthy Woman OB/GYN is now an official continuous donation site, starting Tuesday, for bone marrow donors in hopes that one of the 40,000+ patients might be a match for Shira Klein.

 “We are very excited that we are able to offer on-site donations to our patients,” says Dr. Rebecca Cipriano. The Ciprianos work very closely with Mr. Klein, Shira’s husband. “We are dedicated to helping Shira find a match, and are excited to invite our patients to help.”

Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, formerly known as Hodgkin’s disease, is a cancer of the lymphatic system. This affects the immune system, and causes the cells in the lymphatic system to grow abnormally.

In Shira’s case, a stem cell transplant is needed to replace the diseased bone marrow with healthy stem cells that help grow new bone marrow. A stem cell transplant is usually an option if Hodgkin’s lymphoma returns despite treatment.

As a continuous donation site, Healthy Woman OB/GYN patient’s will be given the opportunity to be a stem cell donor. By meeting the requirements and agreeing to be a stem cell donor, each patient has the potential to provide Shira with the life-saving stem cells she desperately needs.

Through DKMS, the largest bone marrow registry in the world and an organization dedicated to swabbing potential donors, Healthy Woman OB/GYN is able to have kits available on site to swab anyone interested in helping Shira find her donor.

“We hope through these efforts Shira is able to find a match and continue to inspire her community with her remarkable story.”

Schedule a time at Healthy Woman OB/GYN to get swabbed today!

For more information about Shira, please visit www.facebook.com/Smiles4Shira

What should your birth plan include?

Here are questions to consider:

• Who do you want present in the delivery room?
• What kind of pain relief do you want?
• How often do you want fetal monitoring?
• In what situations would a C-section be okay?
• Who should cut the umbilical cord?
• Do you plan to bank cord blood?
• Do you want to be coached when to push?
• What positions do you want to try to push in?
• Do you want the lights dimmed? Music playing? Total quiet?
• Do you want photos or video taken during birth?
• When do you first want to hold your baby?
• When do you first want to breastfeed, if you’re planning to?

For a look at what else you might want to include, you can find a sample birth plan template here.

The great news is that as a Healthy Woman patient, you don’t have to create your birth plan alone. As a part of our OB VIP program, you will have a special prenatal visit at 24 weeks of pregnancy with Dr. Rebecca Cipriano or Dr. Joseph Cipriano, the Healthy Woman co-founders, to go through your birth expectations and ensure that your experience is just as you want it to be. The doctor will talk to you about how you want things to go, give you the options and empower you with the information you need to make the best decisions for yourself.

Perhaps the most helpful aspect of creating a birth plan is that it gets you thinking about important questions that may not have crossed your mind, particularly if this is your first child. Keep your plan as concise as you can; you might want to highlight the things that are most important to you so that they’re not missed.

You may not be able to plan for everything—but you can sure try.

Lately, we’ve been thinking about what makes us different from other groups? The answer: A whole lot. This realization sparked us to launch a new and groundbreaking program called OB VIP.

What is it and what can it mean for you?

OB VIP is an optional specialized program for our pregnant patients—and a big reason why our group is so different from the rest.

The program includes:

• Access to our prenatal coordinator Grace Kasnowski (also called our maternity concierge), who, along with our doctors and medical assistants, is here to help you every step of the way
• Full access to our website, which features blog posts ripe with need-to-know info, created just for you
• Daily social media support
• Weekly email support
• Access to our Pregnancy Connect program, which offers you entree to the best businesses, services and organizations for pregnant and new moms.
• Breastfeeding classes, in conjunction with BestforBabes.org, a celebrity and new mommy loved organization that is giving breastfeeding a makeover by removing the Booby Traps that stop women from achieving their own personal breastfeeding goals—whether those goals are for one day, one week or one year.
• Postpartum support
• And lots more!

The crowning jewel of program? A special 24-week prenatal visit to create your birth plan. All prenatal patients get a 24-week prenatal visit with myself or my husband to go through birth expectations and ensure that the experience can be just as she hopes it will be. Let’s face it: Having a baby is scary! There are also many options available to moms now. Whether you choose to get an epidural or go completely natural, it’s your choice—but making that decision—and many others involved in the birthing process—isn’t always so easy. We will talk to you about how you want your birth to be, give you the options and empower you with the information you need to make the best decisions for yourself.

We are here to support you—whatever your decisions.

We are your advocates.

And that means that we will be there for you on the big day too. You will always be delivered by one of our docs. This is a big deal. We have no laborists and many practices do. Almost every week in the office, I see a new pregnant patient who is changing doctors because she did not realize that someone she did not know (who was covering for her doctor) did her previous delivery.

So hopefully, if you are pregnant, you are already a Healthy Woman patient but if you are not, please make sure your questions are answered thoroughly and you feel supported by your practitioner.

We want you to get the VIP treatment during her most exciting, exhilarating and sometimes even exasperating time in her life. Why? Because you deserve it!

We’re here for you, so call us 732.431.1616.

In the past 10 years since Healthy Woman Ob/Gyn of Colts Neck and Freehold, NJ, has opened its doors, the beloved practice has risen to be the number one women’s healthcare provider in the state and help area women live healthier lives, mind, body and soul. With a mission of being its patients’ partner in good health by fulfilling the emotional, physical and psychological needs of women at all stages of life, through the provision of personal, individualized healthcare services, Healthy Woman Ob/Gyn continues to be the benchmark of progressive, personalized care.

Healthy Woman is New Jersey’s leader in obstetrics and gynecology services because of its staff of top doctors who provide the highest level of professional care in a friendly, relaxed, luxurious, eco-friendly setting and stay on the cutting edge of women’s health to deliver the best that modern medicine has to offer, including robotic surgery; Essure, a permanent birth control procedure; cryoablation services; and in-office ultrasounds.

Savvy women, state and local politicians, dignitaries and celebrities alike flock to the practice, founded by Joseph Cipriano, M.D., FACOG and his wife Rebecca Cipriano, M.D., FACOG, for exceptional care—and Amy Chrebet, wife of former Jets star Wayne Chrebet, is no exception.

Last week, Amy and Wayne Chrebet and their two sons, Luke and Cade, were proud to welcome baby Griffin to their team. Says Dr. Rebecca Cipriano who delivered the happy couple’s third child at nearby CentraState Medical Center, “Amy’s labor went so fast it surprised both of us. She started her labor around 8:30 am and by 11 am after one push she was holding her third son. I think this labor is a metaphor for Amy’s life: fast and furious! We truly had a great labor”

When asked about her experience with Healthy Woman, Amy said: “Dr. Rebecca has been taking care of me for 10 years now and I simply adore her. I’ll miss not seeing her every week now that my pregnancy is over.”