Breaking the Silence: Unveiling Overlooked Women's Health Issues for Informed Empowerment

As a young girl, I was always curious about the function of a woman’s body. I truly think curiosity was mostly coming from a place of awe. I was in constant awe of the functions of the female body and phases that we go through on a physiologic level. Each phase bring a new beginning a new challenge, and new life in one way or another. If we look at the specifics of women’s health, we see the topics that are often covered. I find it all to often that women are left with more questions than answers after seeing a provider for more than routine care. A pap is done every 3 years, results come back normal you’re good to go for another 3. If the results come back abnormal, you’re called to come back in for more in depth diagnostics. Pregnancy, such a vulnerable population is treated with less specificity when it really is such a nuanced experience. 30 minute wait times with 7 minute prenatal appointments, a ultra managed birth experience to fit a mold, 6 week postpartum appointment and you’re on your way. Flawed beyond belief.

From a public health standpoint, we see the pillars of information that are covered, yet there’s a general sense of educational content. It’s to serve the purpose of providing information and education. For ex, we’ll see a headline addressing nutrition. Nutrition is such a BROAD topic so then we’d (public health scientists), break it down by a subset such as demographic. Once we get down to the demographic, we look at the painpoints of the demographic like at risk, low-income, families. Now that we have the demographic, we can create the educational content. For this particular example, I would create a piece of educational content like this: “10 Benefits of Organic Produce and the Resources Your Family Can Find Them”

Let’s do a Maternal Child Health one. My topic will be childbirth education, the population will be first time mothers under the age of 40. My educational content, if I were following the standard, would be, “Nutrition and Exercise for the First Time Mother”. I’d most likely recommend whole grains, protein, healthy fats, and daily walking. This is a blanket recommendation. While this will suffice for a poster somewhere, this should be the tip of the iceberg for what we offer women in a clinical setting. If we are truly wanting to meet the needs of women, we need to get granual on the needs of women. Everyone needs are different. We are not the same. Even within the same community with similar challenges, we will all use tools we’re provided very differently.

While discussions around women's health have evolved over time, there are still certain topics that may receive less attention than others. Here are some relatively less talked about topics in women's health:

1. Pelvic Floor Health:

   • This is essentially a very missed opportunity here. Pelvic floor health and awareness has the ability to impact pregnancy, childbirth itself, and the postpartum recovery experience. Pelvic floor disorders, including issues like incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse, are common but not frequently discussed. Physical therapy and awareness about pelvic floor health can be crucial.

2. Perimenopause and Menopause:

   • This stage is often overlooked early in womanhood. Hormone health awareness can bring clarity into how the cycle begins to phase into a consistent infertile phase. It is oddly stigmatized along with the symptoms and onset timeline. Discussions around hormone therapy, mental health during this phase, and sexual health could do wonders for women moving into this phase of life and perhaps even optimize their experiences.

3. Gynecological Cancers Beyond Breast Cancer:

   • While breast cancer awareness is widespread, other gynecological cancers such as ovarian, cervical, and uterine cancers may not receive as much attention in public discourse. A woman being aware of her cycle can give a level of awareness to what’s going on hormonally in the body. Grab my guide for more details on how this works!

4. Women's Sexual Health:

   • Sexual health goes beyond discussions about contraception and pregnancy, aspects of women's sexual health, including desire, pleasure, and sexual dysfunction, may not be openly addressed. This can definitely coincide with pelvic floor health proving my point that we can no longer discuss these topics in an isolated instance.

5. Pregnancy Loss and Infertility:

   • This is a common issue that has become more destigmatized in the last few years. Women are being open about their personal journey for community, seeking answers, and gaining the desire to have more awareness about their bodies. Communication with their partners, emotional and physical challenges of pregnancy loss and infertility are significant, yet many women may feel a sense of isolation due to societal expectations and lack of open conversation. Addressing hormone health here is also a gap I see that could help improve this conversation.

6. Impact of Mental Health on Physical Well-being:

   • The intricate connection between mental health and physical well-being, especially in conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis, is an area that deserves attention. These hormonal issues and challenges can provide difficulties in normal day to day function, can impact work, relationships, and self image. It’s important we create better spaces and develop referral systems in a streamlined fashion to get the support they need.

7. Postpartum Health and Recovery:

   • This is a hill I would die on. Postpartum health in the main stream birth system is a 6 week postpartum appoitment that consists of the fastest mental health screening I’ve ever seen, a suture check, and conversation about hormonal birth control. While pregnancy and childbirth are frequently discussed, the postpartum period, including physical and mental recovery. This also includes the phsyical intimacy topics that couples need to have more frequently.

I am big on communication. If you are in my childbirth classes, you are fully aware that we have topics around communication, transparency, etc in ALL parts of our life cycles. This is no different. Let’s start having and facilitating better conversations for more confidence to make better decisions. Increased awareness and destigmatization can empower women to seek help, share experiences, and access the support they need.

Don’t forget to check out all the digital resources I have to help you through multiple points in your women’s health journey.