What are Women's Biggest Health Concerns?
By: Sam Barrett
Bodily autonomy has been a major topic of discussion lately, but before we can talk about bodily rights and liberty, we first need to understand health and major health concerns. Women face many different health concerns, and, unfortunately, we don’t have great education on women’s bodies and health. Many women are approached with the same treatments that were predominantly researched on men, and don’t have the same effect on women. However, we continue to ignore this lack of education and other health concerns for women.
Top Women’s Health Concerns:
According to Patient Engagement Hit, “inadequate medical education and training can keep clinicians from understanding the best way to treat the unique health needs women face. Training largely does not address gender, although gender plays a key role in disease progression.” According to Northwestern Medicine, scientists are slowly beginning to increase their understanding of the different health needs of men and women, and here are what they believe to be the top 9 health concerns for women;
Heart disease; “Heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death for women.”
Strokes; “Each year stroke affects 55,000 more women than men.”
Diabetes; “Although diabetes is certainly not exclusive to women, it does increase the risk for heart disease by four times in women.”
Maternal health issues; “From iron-deficiency anemia to high blood pressure, the changes a woman experiences during pregnancy can impact a woman’s health.”
Urinary tract infections; “They are particularly common in women, as they have a shorter urethra than a man does.”
Sexual health; “There are more than 30 types of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).”
Breast Cancer; “Second only to skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer in American women. In fact, American women have a 12 percent chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetime.”
Osteoporosis; “Osteoporosis is a disease that causes your bones to weaken, making them susceptible to fractures. Postmenopausal women are at higher risk for fractures associated with osteoporosis.”
Alzheimer’s disease; “Of the 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease, more than two-thirds are women.”
As we can see from just this list and small information alone, men and women’s health concerns differ. Especially when it comes to the obvious difference; maternal health.
Maternal Health Concerns:
It is common knowledge that women go through health changes and concerns before, during, and after pregnancy. However, many people are uneducated on these numerous issues and how hard it is to gain access to educated, quality healthcare for pregnant women.
According to the CDC, these are the top health concerns women may face during pregnancy;
Anemia
Urinary tract infections
Mental health conditions
High blood pressure
Diabetes
Obesity and weight gain
Infections
These are just some of the most common health issues that women face during pregnancy, and there is even more to worry about postpartum. According to the Mayo Clinic, these are some of the top postpartum health concerns;
Cardiovascular diseases
Other medical conditions often reflecting pre-existing illnesses
Infection or sepsis
Hemorrhage: Excessive bleeding after giving birth.
Cardiomyopathy: A disease of the heart muscle that makes it harder for your heart to pump blood to the rest of your body.
Thrombotic pulmonary embolism: A blockage in one of the pulmonary arteries in the lungs often caused by blood clots that travel to the lungs from the legs.
Strokes
High blood pressure
Amniotic fluid embolism: A rare but serious condition that occurs when amniotic fluid or fetal material, such as fetal cells, enters the mother's bloodstream.
Anesthesia complications
And these are just the physical health issues, women also face many mental health issues postpartum. The most common mental health issue that women face after childbirth is postpartum depression (PPD). According to the MGH Center for Women’s Mental Health, “PPD typically emerges over the first two to three postpartum months but may occur at any point after delivery.”
These physical and mental health issues are not the only concerns women face before, during, or after pregnancy. According to the March of Dimes Maternity Care Deserts Report, 1,095 counties across the United States are classified as maternity care deserts, meaning these counties have “no hospitals providing obstetric care, no birth centers, no OB/GYN and no certified nurse midwives.” Another 359 counties are classified as having low access to maternity care, meaning these counties have “one or less hospital offering OB service and fewer than 60 OB providers per 10,000 births, and the proportion of women without health insurance was 10 percent or greater.” This report also found that “4.8 million women of childbearing age live in counties with limited access to maternity care.” This means that 4.8 million women are at risk of not being able to receive the proper care they need if they were to get pregnant. Rural areas have it the worst with only 8% of obstetric providers reporting practicing in rural areas. As we can see from these statistics, women face more than just physical and mental health concerns, they face money and time concerns. Women are forced to travel out of their county just for check-ups. Imagine having to take a 30 minute to an hour drive to give birth or when you’ve faced any of the above pregnancy health concerns. It is absurd, and is just one of many things that needs to change about women’s healthcare - but why is women’s healthcare so important?
Importance of Women’s Health:
Women’s healthcare is important for many reasons - here are some statistics from The Commonwealth Fund to prove it;
“Studies show that, when a mother dies, her children and her community of family and friends experience a decline in health, nutrition, education, and economic outcomes; they also face a financial loss that may take generations to overcome. Given that the rate of maternal mortality is two to three times higher among Black mothers than white mothers, this impact is amplified in communities of color.”
“Women also play an indispensable role in the labor force. They make up nearly 60 percent of U.S. workers and represent 65 percent of the unpaid workforce of informal caregivers for children, elderly relatives, and family members with disabilities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare organizations have depended heavily on women, who account for nearly four in five essential healthcare workers.”
“Good primary health care for women is not only vital for promoting economic stability but also critical to limiting costs across the health care system: 90 percent of national health care expenditures are attributed to treating chronic and mental health conditions, both of which significantly impact adult women.”
Improving and advocating for women’s healthcare will not just benefit women, but will benefit us all economically and socially.
Overall, women’s healthcare is unique to men’s, and we need to start treating it that way. Let’s become more educated on women’s health and the issues they face, so that we can start properly taking care of mothers, daughters, grandmothers, and all women.