Women’s Health: Unique Needs Across Your Life Stages
Women’s Health
Why is it unique and why does it matter?
Women have many unique health concerns that vary across the different phases of her lifespan – like those related to menstrual cycles, reproductive health, pregnancy, breastfeeding, perimenopause, menopause and post-menopause. A number of health issues affect only women and others are more common in women.
Nutrition:
Most times, women need fewer calories because women naturally have less muscle, more body fat, and are usually smaller. On average, adult women need between 1,600 and 2,400 calories a day. Women who are more physically active may need more calories. A woman’s nutritional needs change as our bodies change during different stages of our lives.
Girls ages 9 to 18 need more calcium and vitamin D to build strong bones and help prevent osteoporosis later in life.Girls ages 14 to 18 also need more iron than boys. After about age 25, a woman’s resting metabolism (i.e; the number of calories her body needs to sustain itself at rest) goes down. Therefore, to maintain a healthy weight after age 25, women need to gradually reduce their calories and increase their physical activity.
Before and during pregnancy, including during breastfeeding a woman should increase the intake of proteins, calcium, iron, and folic acid to support their health as well as their baby’s development. They must also ensure an adequate intake of water to maintain very good hydration.
Reproductive health:
The prevalence of infertility is said to be around 8% to10% of couples worldwide. Infertility is a serious health issue that has profound socioeconomic and health implications on both the individual and society.In the recent past, due to rapid urbanization, elevated standard of living, rise in education status, women are becoming more independent and are following the trends of modern lifestyle. This has in turn contributed to modified dietary habits, physical inactivity, which are considered to be the risk factors of developing primary infertility.As the changing trends of society, the level of education is increasing and also priorities of life are changing which prolongs the age at marriage and delayed age at marriage is also a risk factor for primary infertility. Obesity, hormonal imbalance, menstrual dysfunction, blockage of fallopian tubes,and genital infections are other causes for infertility. That being said, it should also be noted that in an infertile couple, male factor can be responsible for 25-40% of the cause as well.
Gynecological Cancers:
Five main types of cancer affect a woman’s reproductive organs are cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal and vulvar cancers. As a group, they are referred to as gynecologic cancer.The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) reports that the most common types of cancer in Indian women are the cancer of the cervix, breast, mouth/pharynx, and esophagus, with breast cancer accounting for almost 27% of all cancers in women. Late diagnosis, ignorance of signs and symptoms and hesitation to see a doctor further complicate the situation.Once a person is diagnosed with cancer, there is emotional trauma, further burdened by the cost of the treatment that causes economic disarray and stress. We recommend women to go for regular check-ups and conduct regular diagnosis for early detection of cancer symptoms and address it to enjoy a complete life.
Dr. Leela Sravanthi Veeradhi
Fellowship in Gynaec Endoscopy, RGUHS, Bengaluru
Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
Nanjappa Hospitals,
#605, Maganur Basappa Road, Hadadi Road,
Taralabalu Layout, Davanagere 577005