women's Health

1. Women's health
Women's health refers to the branch of medicine that focuses on the treatment and
diagnosis of diseases and conditions that affect a woman's physical and emotional
well-being.
Women's health includes a wide range of specialities and focus areas, such as:

2.  Birth control, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and gynecology
 Breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and other female cancers
 Mammography
 Menopause and hormone therapy
 Osteoporosis
 Pregnancy and childbirth
 Sexual health
 Women and heart disease
 Benign conditions affecting the function of the female reproductive organs
PREVENTATIVE CARE AND SCREENINGS
Preventative care for women includes the following services:
 Regular gynecological checkups, including a pelvic exam and breast exam
 Pap smear and HPV testing
 Bone density testing
 Breast cancer screening
 Discussions about colon cancer screening
 Age-appropriate immunizations
 Healthy lifestyle risk assessment
 Hormonal testing for menopause
 Immunizations
 Screening for STIs
Breast self-exam instruction may also be included.
BREAST CARE SERVICES
Breast care services include the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, which may
involve:
 Breast biopsy
 Breast MRI scan

3.  Breast ultrasound
 Genetic testing and counseling for women with a family or personal history of
breast cancer
 Hormonal therapy, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy
 Mammography
 Mastectomy and breast reconstruction
The breast care services team may also diagnose and treat noncancerous conditions
of the breast, including:
 Benign breast lumps
 Lymphedema, a condition in which excess fluid collects in tissue and causes
swelling
SEXUAL HEALTH SERVICES
Your sexual health is an important part of your overall well-being. Women's sexual
health services may include:
 Birth control (contraceptives)
 Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of sexually-transmitted infections
 Therapies to help with problems with sexual function
GYNECOLOGY AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES
Gynecology and reproductive health services may include the diagnosis and
treatment of various conditions and diseases, including:
 Abnormal Pap smears
 Presence of high-risk HPV
 Abnormal vaginal bleeding
 Bacterial vaginosis
 Endometriosis
 Heavy menstrual cycles
 Irregular menstrual cycles
 Other vaginal infections
 Ovarian cysts
 Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)

4.  Pelvic pain
 Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
 Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)
 Uterine fibroids
 Uterine and vaginal prolapse
 Vaginal yeast infection
 Various conditions affecting the vulva and vagina
 Menopause
 Urinary tract infections
PREGNANCY AND CHILDBIRTH SERVICES
Regular prenatal care is an important part of every pregnancy. Pregnancy and
childbirth services include:
 Planning and preparing for pregnancy, including information about proper
diet, prenatal vitamins, and review of pre-existing medical conditions and medicines
used
 Prenatal care, delivery, and postpartum care
 High-risk pregnancy care (maternal-fetal medicine)
 Breastfeeding and nursing
INFERTILITY SERVICES
Infertility specialists are an important part of the women's health services team.
Infertility services may include:
 Testing to determine the cause of infertility (a cause may not always be
found)
 Blood and imaging tests to monitor ovulation
 Infertility treatments
 Counseling for couples who are dealing with infertility or loss of a baby
Types of infertility treatments that may be offered include:
 Medicines to stimulate ovulation
 Intrauterine insemination
 In vitro fertilization (IVF)

5.  Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) -- Injection of a single sperm directly
into an egg
 Embryo cryopreservation: Freezing embryos for use at a later date
 Egg donation
 Sperm banking
BLADDER CARE SERVICES
The women's health services team can also help diagnose and treat bladder-related
conditions. Bladder-related conditions that may affect women can include:
 Bladder emptying disorders
 Urinary incontinence and overactive bladder
 Interstitial cystitis
 Prolapse of the bladder
If you have a bladder condition, your women's health specialist may recommend
that you do Kegel exercises to strengthen the muscles in your pelvic floor.
OTHER WOMEN'S HEALTH SERVICES
 Cosmetic surgery and skin care, including skin cancer
 Diet and nutrition services
 Psychological care and counseling for women dealing with abuse or sexual
assault
 Sleep disorders services
 Smoking cessation
TREATMENTS AND PROCEDURES
Members of the women's health services team perform a variety of different
treatments and procedures. Among the most common are:
 Cesarean section (C-section)
 Endometrial ablation
 Endometrial biopsy
 D&C
 Hysterectomy

6.  Hysteroscopy
 Mastectomy and breast reconstruction
 Pelvic laparoscopy
 Procedures to treat precancerous changes of the cervix (LEEP, Cone biopsy)
 Procedures to treat urinary incontinence
 Tubal ligation and reversal of tubal sterilization
 Uterine artery embolization
WHO TAKES CARE OF YOU
The women's health services team includes doctors and health care providers from
different specialties. The team may include:
 Obstetrician/gynecologist (ob/gyn) -- A doctor who has received extra
training in the treatment of pregnancy, reproductive organ problems, and other
women's health issues.
 General surgeons specializing in breast care.
 Perinatologist -- An ob/gyn who has received further training and specializes
in the care of high-risk pregnancies.
 Radiologist -- Doctors who received extra training and interpretation of
different imaging as well as performing different procedures using imaging
technology to treat disorders such as uterine fibroids.
 Physician assistant (PA).
 Primary care doctor.
 Nurse practitioner (NP).
 Nurse midwives.
This list may not be all-inclusive.
POVERTY AND POOR HEALTH
Poverty and poor health worldwide are unresolvable linked.
What links poverty and poor health?

7. Poverty and poor health worldwide are unresolvable linked. The causes of poor
health for millions globally are rooted in political, social and economic injustices.
Poverty is both a cause and a consequence of poor health. Poverty increases the
chances of poor health. Poor health, in turn, traps communities in poverty. Infectious
and neglected tropical diseases kill and weaken millions of the poorest and most
vulnerable people each year.
What other links are there between poverty and poor health?
 The economic and political structures which sustain poverty and
discrimination need to be transformed in order for poverty and poor health to be
tackled.
 Marginalised groups and vulnerable individuals are often worst affected,
deprived of the information, money or access to health services that would help
them prevent and treat disease.
 Very poor and vulnerable people may have to make harsh choices –
knowingly putting their health at risk because they cannot see their children go
hungry, for example.
 The cultural and social barriers faced by marginalised groups – including
indigenous communities – can mean they use health services less, with serious
consequences for their health. This perpetuates their disproportionate levels of
poverty.
 The cost of doctors’ fees, a course of drugs and transport to reach a health
centre can be devastating, both for an individual and their relatives who need to
care for them or help them reach and pay for treatment. In the worst cases, the
burden of illness may mean that families sell their property, take children out of
school to earn a living or even start begging.
 The burden of caring is often taken on by a female relative, who may have to
give up her education as a result, or take on waged work to help meet the
household’s costs. Missing out on education has long-term implications for a
woman’s opportunities later in life and for her own health.
 Overcrowded and poor living conditions can contribute to the spread of
airborne diseases such as tuberculosis and respiratory infections such as pneumonia.
Reliance on open fires or traditional stoves can lead to deadly indoor air pollution. A
lack of food, clean water and sanitation can also be fatal.
Which infectious diseases are the main killers worldwide?
HIV, diarrhoea, tuberculosis and malaria, as well as communicable respiratory
diseases such as pneumonia kill the most people. Diarrhoea, pneumonia and malaria
account for nearly half of all child deaths globally.

8. Neglected tropical diseases affect over one billion people, almost all in the poorest
and most marginalised communities. You may not have heard of diseases such as
leprosy, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted
helminths and trachoma, but they can cause severe pain and life-long disabilities –
and mean enormous productivity losses. However, efforts to tackle them have
usually taken a back seat to the bigger killers.
Which are the most deadly non-communicable illnesses worldwide?
The biggest non-communicable killers are maternal and newborn deaths and deaths
related to poor nutrition, cardiovascular disease and non-communicable respiratory
diseases.
How do disease and infection affect economic growth?
 Lives lost mean reduced economic productivity as well as personal tragedy.
Productivity is further slowed while people are ill or caring for others. There were 1.7
HIV-related deaths in 2007 and 990 thousand deaths from tuberculosis. Most of
these were among young people and adults in their most productive years.
 In heavily affected countries billions of dollars of economic activity are lost
each year as a result of illness and death from HIV, TB and malaria. This can seriously
reduce economic growth in countries that are already struggling. Malaria reduces
economic growth by 1.3% in heavily affected countries, and costs around $12 billion
in lost GDP across Africa. TB costs around 7% of GDP in the worst affected countries.
How has the global community responded?
World leaders and international organisations have slowly woken up to the impact of
the most prevalent infectious diseases. The World Health Organisation has declared
TB, HIV and malaria global emergencies. Reducing the spread and treating HIV, TB,
malaria, and other diseases is also one of the Millennium Development Goals.
However, as well as tackling specific diseases, it is crucial that leaders also address
the underlying causes. It is widely accepted that the key reason for the increase in
life expectancy in wealthy countries in the late 19th and early 20th century was less
to do with the leaps forward in medical science, and more to do with the arrival of
better nutrition, clean water and sanitation.
Reducing poverty, improving nutrition and making sure people have access to safe
water and sanitation, as well as strengthening national health systems, is of the

9. utmost importance. Otherwise tackling one particular threat simply leaves people
open to another deadly disease soon afterward.
Tackling the structural causes of poverty and poor health, for example calling for
measures to tackle inequality and injustices such as corporate tax evasion, are
central to what is needed from the global community.