Feminine health encompasses all aspects of women’s bodies and lives from puberty through menopause, including reproductive healthcare services such as contraception and support during pregnancy.
Vaginal discharge is natural and healthy – it helps your body cleanse itself while providing lubrication to protect itself against infection. A healthy diet may also help alleviate symptoms associated with bacterial vaginosis (BV). Consider wearing panty liners daily to absorb your own natural discharge and keep you feeling fresh throughout the day.
Menstrual Health
Nearly two billion women, girls, and non-binary people menstruate every month – but many lack access to menstrual products and facilities – which prevents them from living healthily, dignity fully participating fully in life, often known as period poverty.
Fighting period poverty through improved menstrual hygiene management is vital in combatting period poverty, including tax relief on products like reusable menstrual cups, period underwear and biodegradable pads; in addition to addressing its root causes through access, education, advocacy and research.
Raising awareness of period health and normalizing conversations about puberty are vitally important, as this allows individuals to take proactive measures against barriers and seek professional advice when necessary, helping to eliminate taboos and stigma associated with menstruation while creating a culture of respect, inclusion and dignity for all – which are all integral parts of advancing global population health, meeting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) goals, realizing gender equality and human rights.
Pregnancy
Women require comprehensive prenatal care, which should include nutrition and monitoring of complications. Women should avoid activities which could deplete oxygen to their unborn fetus such as strenuous exercise, scuba diving or competitive sports that reduce oxygen availability to them during gestation. While exercising, women must consume plenty of fluids.
Women and girls have unique health needs that differ from men. This may include issues related to menstruation, pregnancy and menopause as well as conditions like PCOS that impede fertility; or diseases which impact both women and men differently like cardiovascular disease. However, an over-focus on reproductive and gynecological health alone overlooks many additional challenges women face compared to men in terms of health. Women are more likely to become disabled during their lifetime than men, develop heart disease 20% more frequently, be obese – all leading to early death. Women are also at greater risk from violence such as female infanticide, genital mutilation and socially sanctioned murder or suicide. Women living in economically disadvantaged regions face additional danger from illness and death from lack of healthcare access.
Postpartum Health
The weeks following a woman’s delivery are key for both short-term and long-term health and wellbeing. This period, known as the “fourth trimester,” involves multiple physical and psychological changes as she transitions into motherhood; these can include breastfeeding difficulties, pain/fatigue issues, mental health disorders surfacing for the first time or worsening, urinary incontinence issues and postpartum hemorrhages.
Ideal care should extend through postpartum period and beyond, with anticipatory guidance starting during pregnancy. This includes selecting a primary obstetric care provider to assume ongoing maternal health in woman’s medical home; if an OB/GYN cannot provide this continuity of care, referral should be made.
Sexual Health
When discussing wellness, conversations about diet and exercise often omit an essential aspect: sexual health. That is why Tryon Medical Partners women’s health specialist Dr. Alyse Kelly-Jones thinks it is time for change – to promote an optimistic and empowering view of sexual wellbeing.
Sexual health requires being able to understand and assess the benefits, risks and responsibilities associated with their actions, such as abstinence when it is appropriate. Furthermore, being sexually healthy means having fulfilling sexual experiences free from coercion, violence, stigma or discrimination that are safe.
People must have access to information, education and services that protect against sexually transmitted diseases and unintended pregnancies as well as timely care for existing conditions like HIV or cancer. This holistic view of sexual health reflects its centrality to life experience throughout one’s lifetime.
