Women’s Health

Exercise is good for both you and your little one. In fact, the right moves can ease common discomforts like back pain and sleep troubles. One of the best exercises is swimming. It's gentle on the joints and relieves swollen ankles. Others include yoga, indoor cycling, brisk walking and low-impact aerobics
Pregnancy acne is a skin breakout in pregnant people, possibly caused by hormone changes in the first trimester. It usually goes away when your hormone levels return to normal. The safest thing to do is to avoid any prescription acne medications or over-the-counter chemical spot treatments
During pregnancy, your body produces more blood to support the growth of your baby. If you're not getting enough iron or certain other nutrients, your body might not be able to produce the amount of red blood cells it needs to make this additional blood. This condition is called Anemia. When your diet is low or when your body can't absorb iron, or when you have heavy periods, injuries can result in iron deficiency anemia
Implantation bleeding is light bleeding from the vagina that happens in some women 10 to 14 days after conceiving a baby. You may think it’s just a light period, but it’s an early sign of pregnancy. It’s not dangerous, and you don’t need treatment. Implantation bleeding symptoms include tender, swollen breasts, fatigue, headache, vomiting (morning sickness), mood swings
If it's not the nagging pressure on your bladder that's keeping you awake, then it's the gnawing backache or leg cramps, or sheer inability to get comfortable in a bed that once gently cradled you to sleep. Limit coffee, drink plenty of water, ditch the screens and eat smaller meals more often and eat earlier If you've tried these tips and you still can't get to sleep or stay asleep, see your doctor. You may need treatment for a sleep problem such as snoring or restless legs syndrome

If you are lactose intolerant, you can still receive the calcium you need. Here are some suggestions:

  • Use Lactaid Milk fortified with calcium. Talk to your dietitian about other lactose-reduced products.
  • You may be able to tolerate certain milk products that contain less sugar including cheese, yogurt, and cottage cheese.
  • Eat non-dairy calcium sources, including greens, broccoli, sardines, and tofu.
  • Try consuming small amounts of milk with meals. Milk is better tolerated with food.

Heart disease has been commonly known as a “man’s disease,” but statistics have shown that about the same number of women die from heart disease in the U.S. each year, according to the Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In the last 10 years, there has been an effort to increase women’s awareness of their risk of heart disease. Even with that increase, only about half of women know the heart disease is their No. 1 killer, according to the CDC.

Women’s symptoms of heart disease and heart attack are not always the same and not always as easy to recognize as men’s symptoms, according to the CDC. That is why a huge part of increasing women’s awareness is teaching the symptoms specific to them.

Some heart disease symptoms in women, according to the CDC, include:

  • Back pain
  • Burning in the chest
  • Chest pain or discomfort – could be dull, heavy or sharp
  • Pain in the neck, jaw or throat
  • Pain in the upper abdomen

Sometimes, heart disease has no symptoms in women. It can be described as silent, and sometimes isn’t diagnosed until a woman has an abnormal heart rhythm, heart attack, heart failure or stroke, according to the CDC.

All women should consider themselves at risk for heart disease because heart disease is the leading cause of death in women in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). One in every four women’s deaths are caused by heart disease.

While some risk factors, such as family history, cannot be changed, there are risk factors women can choose to control. According to the CDC, risk factors of heart disease that women can choose to improve include:

  • Alcohol use in excess
  • Cholesterol
  • Diabetes
  • High blood pressure
  • High LDL
  • Obesity and overweight
  • Physical inactivity
  • Poor diet
  • Smoking

The top health threats facing women in the U.S. are heart disease, cancer and stroke, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Other top health issues that threaten women’s health include:

  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Depression
  • Osteoporosis

For many health risks, but especially for heart disease and stroke, there are steps women can take to try to prevent these threats to their health, according to the HHS:

  • Stay physically active – It is important to get up and move because studies have shown that having an active lifestyle can lower your risk of heart disease, stroke and other health problems.
  • Healthy eating – Choosing to focus on eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fat-free or low-fat dairy, fish, beans, peas, nuts and lean meats can help you maintain a healthy weight. Eating healthy can also improve your arteries, blood pressure and glucose level.
  • Take care of yourself – An increased risk of heart disease has been linked to stress, anxiety, depression and a lack of sleep. Your mind needs to be kept in good shape, just like your body. If you feel overstressed, overtired or overloaded, make sure to make time for yourself.

Puberty is a time in life when the body starts changing from childhood to adulthood, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

Hormones cause many changes in the body, including the growth of pubic hair, pimples, menstruation, and more, according to the AAP.

For girls, puberty usually starts between age 8 and 13, but there is no correct time for it to begin, according to the AAP. Every person experiences puberty differently and changes in their own way, at their own pace.

People with diabetes are at a higher risk of getting heart disease, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). Even if you have your blood sugar levels under control, having diabetes increases your risk of heart disease.

Having diabetes makes it two to four times more likely that you will also have heart disease, according to the AHA, which includes diabetes as one of the heart disease risk factor that you can control.

Another risk factor of heart disease that you can control is obesity. Central obesity – which means having extra weight around your waist – increases your risk of heart disease, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This is because stomach fat increases LDL cholesterol, which is bad cholesterol that builds up inside the walls of your blood vessels.

The better you can control risk factors like diabetes and obesity, the more you can reduce your risk of getting heart disease.

It is very important for younger women to focus on bone health because building strong bones at an early age can help prevent bone weakening later in life, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF).

The NOF suggests keeping bones healthy and strong by:

  • Avoiding smoking
  • Consume enough calcium and vitamin D, including food and supplements
  • Do not drink alcohol in excess
  • Eat a well-balanced diet
  • Exercise regularly, focusing on weight-bearing and strength training exercise
  • Have a bone density test (for people over 50)
  • Talk with your physician about your bone health

While exercise and being active are beneficial to bone health, it is important not to overdo it, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Women who exercise too much, who have very strict weight loss diets, and who focus on being very thin rather than fit are putting themselves at risk of health problems, including bone problems, according to the NIH.

Behaviors that put someone at risk for bone loss, according to the NIH, include:

  • Extreme thinness
  • Frequent dieting, including eating very little and a focus on low-calorie foods
  • Ignoring sickness, injury, bad weather and more in order to exercise
  • Intense, frequent exercise
  • Irregular or missed periods
  • Obsessive focus on exercise
  • Rapid weight loss

If you recognize some of these behaviors in yourself, you can choose to eat a more healthy diet that includes enough calories to support your activity level, according to the NIH. It is important to find that balance between food and exercise.

Women are at higher risk of breaking bones and developing osteoporosis, which means a weakening of the bones, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation [Link to http://www.nof.org/ in a new window with off site icon and 3rd party content disclaimer] (NOF).

It is estimated that about 8 million of the 10 million Americans with osteoporosis are women. When women age and reach menopause, the hormone estrogen, which protects bones, quickly decreases, according to the NOF. The decrease causes bone loss.

If women do not get enough calcium to strengthen their bones when they are young, their bones are more likely to become weak as they age. The lack of calcium can lead to osteoporosis, and the weakening can lead to broken bones, especially hips, the spine and wrists, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND).