Understanding women’s health

Understanding women’s health and working to solve widespread women’s health challenges—especially reproductive health challenges—is vital to promoting healthy families and communities.

Women’s health refers to the broad category of health issues that are unique to women, including:¹

Reproductive health (such as cervical and ovarian cancer, endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome)

Contraceptive care

Fertility care

Prenatal, pregnancy and postpartum

Perimenopause and menopause

Health outcomes among women can vary widely based on factors such as race, socioeconomic status and geographic location.

For example, statistics show that Black women have over double maternal mortality rates than any other race in the U.S.²

Researching solutions to promote women’s health equity has never been more important to save the lives of women and children across the country.

Receiving the right prenatal care at the right time can dramatically improve a woman’s chance of experiencing a healthy pregnancy and successful delivery.

This also creates opportunities for the mother to discuss any concerns she has along the way, opening the door to better communication and trust with her provider.

Within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, a provider can help identify and manage pre-existing conditions that may pose a risk to the pregnancy early on.⁴

Regular visits throughout the remainder of the pregnancy allow for necessary physical exams, blood pressure checks, imaging and ultrasounds that are essential to monitoring the baby’s health and development.