Women’s Health: Facets And Challenges

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Women’s health has always been founded on allowing every woman to thrive, meaning enabling her to handle stress, access healthcare services, and nurture herself in all ways possible. This takes on so much importance as women are key to maintaining healthy families, access the health system more than women, and use health services not just for themselves but also on behalf of their children.

Many women become pregnant and give birth, typically act as their child’s primary caregiver, and are affected by elder and long-term care issues more often because of different factors. They also live longer, have higher rates of disability and chronic health issues, and have lower incomes than men on average, putting them at a greater need for health resources such as Medicaid.

Diseases and health challenges common to women include heart disease, cancer, diabetes, depression, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer’s disease. Heart disease is the gender’s leading killer, where they have more subtle symptoms of a heart attack than men. Cancer kills more than 250,000 women in the United States each year, while osteoporosis affects 8 million women over age 50 in the country.

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Women’s health is concerned with the different facets of wellness, from diet and exercises to rest and relaxation to reproductive health. It is also crucial for women to undergo regular screening and tests, including estrogen and progesterone tests, breast biopsy, hysteroscopy, pap smear, and pelvic exam.

To obtain proper treatment for chronic disease and other women’s health issues means getting proper health insurance coverage. So, to address disparities in this area, states have also taken steps to improve accessibility, such as expanding Medicaid eligibility for pregnant women and prohibiting insurance policies that discriminate against women.

Victoria Mondloch, M.D., is a practicing physician with three decades of experience focusing on women’s health, family medicine, and preventive health and wellness. She serves with the mission to empower her patients when it comes to working together on medical diagnoses and educating them on the best steps to keep them in tip-top health. More on Dr. Mondloch here.