While many aspects of healthcare are necessary and useful for all people, there are others that mostly or entirely benefit one group of people, such as women. Here are five types of women’s health services.

1. Breast Health

Making sure your breasts are healthy is an important part of women’s healthcare. If you’re planning to have children and want to breastfeed them, you should make sure you know how to properly do so that that your mammary glands will be able to support that. You should also do breast exams regularly, have your gynecologist examine your breasts annually and get mammograms done starting around age forty. These practices will help you screen for issues or conditions such as breast tumors.

2. Pregnancy and Childbirth

Pregnancy and childbirth are part of a wide-ranging aspect of women’s healthcare. This type of healthcare encompasses not only specialized care for women who are pregnant and preparing for childbirth and parenting a newborn, but also services such as abortion. If you are considering abortion, it is recommended you speak to those who provide advice and information on the procedure, like those at yourlovingchoices.org can offer, before deciding to go through with this. Because these are all classified as healthcare services, you can get pregnancy care at abortion Illinois, Maine or anywhere else in the US. There are also many free clinics available to assist you if you don’t have health insurance.

3. Reproductive Health

Everyone with female reproductive organs should see a gynecologist to monitor reproductive health and screen for diseases and conditions, such as cancer development. Typically, you should see your gynecologist annually. At this annual visit, he or she will perform a physical exam, possibly do a Pap smear and perform any other tests necessary based on your family history and personal history. You can also talk to him or her about birth control options, plans to conceive or abnormalities you’ve noticed on your own.

4. Fertility Treatment

Some women may experience issues with fertility in their lifetimes, such as difficulty conceiving. If this is the case for you, you may be able to seek fertility treatment. There are several types of fertility treatment available, for both men and women. For women, one of the most well-known treatments is IVF, or in-vitro fertilization, but there are others. These include sperm banking and ovulation stimulating medications. You can also access counseling to healthily cope with this issue and various types of testing to determine what treatments would work best for you.

5. Sexual Health

If you are or want to become sexually active, it’s important to be cognizant of your sexual health. There are services available to educate you on using contraception properly, avoiding contracting sexually transmitted illnesses (STIs) and recognizing the symptoms in case you do contract an STI. If you suspect you may have contracted an STI, talk to your doctor about diagnosis and treatment. YOu can also talk to your doctor about any sexual dysfunction you may be experiencing.

Some of these services, such as mammograms and gynecological exams, are necessary for all women at some point in their lives. Others, such as infertility treatment, are only necessary for women with certain goals or health issues. Talk to your doctor about which health services are best for you.