-
5 Things You Should Know About Pelvic Organ Prolapse
Read More: 5 Things You Should Know About Pelvic Organ ProlapseJune is Pelvic Organ Prolapse Awareness Month. Few things are scarier than your pelvic organs making an appearance somewhere you don’t expect them – like bulging out of your vaginal canal. But don’t worry, you’re not having an alien encounter. It’s pelvic organ prolapse (POP), and it actually happens a lot. In fact, up to…
-
15 Minutes With: Sara Reardon, DPT, WCS, Talks About the Power of the Pelvic Floor and the Problem with How We Pee
Read More: 15 Minutes With: Sara Reardon, DPT, WCS, Talks About the Power of the Pelvic Floor and the Problem with How We PeeSara Reardon, aka “The Vagina Whisperer,” has been very vocal online about the importance of women’s pelvic floor health since 2017. And with more than 680,000 followers and 13 million views on social media — people are listening. “The account has organically grown, and I think that’s a real testament to how much women really…
-
What Is Pelvic Floor Therapy?
Read More: What Is Pelvic Floor Therapy?The pelvic floor is the unsung hero of the lower body. Think of it like an upside down umbrella of muscle and tissue that keeps important organs — including your bladder and bowels — where they should be. If that wasn’t cool enough, pelvic floor muscles also help you achieve orgasm and help control bodily…
-
Your Pelvic Floor. What Is It Good for?
Read More: Your Pelvic Floor. What Is It Good for?If you’re not exactly sure what your pelvic floor is, you’re not alone. “It was never talked about during my generation at all,” said Robyn Faye, M.D., an OB-GYN and member of HealthyWomen’s Women’s Health Advisory Council. “That’s why women my age are coming in and having problems and all they know about is Kegel…
-
Prolapse Changed My Life for the Better
Read More: Prolapse Changed My Life for the BetterAs told to Jacquelyne Froeber June is Pelvic Organ Prolapse Awareness Month Sitting in a waiting room with mostly 80-year-old men, I wondered how I got here. I was 50. Active. In good health. But apparently my bladder thought I was twice my age. The urge to pee was taking over my life. No matter…
-
A Doctor Talked Me into Getting a Hysterectomy to Cure My Endometriosis. She Was Wrong.
Read More: A Doctor Talked Me into Getting a Hysterectomy to Cure My Endometriosis. She Was Wrong.As told to Nicole Audrey Spector The chronic fatigue and migraine attacks began in high school. Some days I was completely unable to function. Because I had a history of depression and anxiety, it was impossible to know whether the fatigue and migraine attacks were stemming from a mental health issue. My family and I…
-
11 Things That Heaviness in Your Pelvic Area Might Mean
Read More: 11 Things That Heaviness in Your Pelvic Area Might MeanHave you ever felt a heavy feeling in your pelvic area and wondered if something was wrong? Even if it doesn’t hurt exactly, the heaviness can be uncomfortable and make you anxious if you don’t know what’s going on. You probably don’t have to worry — many causes of pelvic heaviness are common and easily…
-
Good Sex with Emily Jamea: Pleasure and Pain
Read More: Good Sex with Emily Jamea: Pleasure and PainEmily Jamea, Ph.D., is a sex therapist, author and podcast host. You can find her here each month to share her latest thoughts about sex. Good sex only happens when there’s mutual consent and mutual pleasure. But unfortunately, women often struggle to experience pleasure during sex and many actually experience significant discomfort and even pain.…
-
Why Getting an Endometriosis Diagnosis Is Painfully Slow
Read More: Why Getting an Endometriosis Diagnosis Is Painfully SlowAt age 10, I felt a warm rush of fluid fill my underpants while attending a friend’s birthday party. I ran to the bathroom to find my underpants and jeans soaked. I was unsure of how to leave without exposing myself as the first of us to get her period while most of my friends…
-
It Took 3 Decades for Me to Receive an Endometriosis Diagnosis
Read More: It Took 3 Decades for Me to Receive an Endometriosis DiagnosisAs told to Marnie Goodfriend Growing up in a strict, religious household, there was never a conversation around menstruation. I was 10 years old when I first got my period and was left in the dark wondering what was happening to my body. At age 13, girls and boys were split up for a half-day…
-
Living with Fibroids Videos
Read More: Living with Fibroids VideosTelemedicine: A Great Option for the Management and Evaluation of Uterine Fibroids With Dr. Ruth Arumala, Fibroid Specialist Tips on Making the Best out of Your Visit With Your Healthcare Provider With Dr. Ruth Arumala, Fibroid Specialist Know the Symptoms of Fibroids: Be Your Own Health Advocate With Dr. Erica Montes What a Healthcare Provider’s…
-
Gynecological Procedures Can Be a Real Pain
Read More: Gynecological Procedures Can Be a Real PainAs Sarah*, 32, suffered through pain during a colposcopy — a procedure to examine the cervix, vagina and vulva for possible cervical cancer — the healthcare provider (HCP) performing the procedure delivered a comment Sarah said she’ll never forget. “These are the things we’re expected to go through as women.” The doctor had been kind…
-
Urothelial Cancer or Urinary tract infection (UTI)?
Read More: Urothelial Cancer or Urinary tract infection (UTI)?Take our True of False quiz to learn more about the symptoms of Urothelial Cancer and UTIs. Created with support from Astellas.
-
Heavy Uterine Bleeding and Iron Deficiency Anemia Can Affect Mental Health, Relationships and Sexual Health
Read More: Heavy Uterine Bleeding and Iron Deficiency Anemia Can Affect Mental Health, Relationships and Sexual HealthCarmen Davis knows the pain and frustration of heavy uterine bleeding (HUB) too well: Crippling cramps, constant back pain and obsessive bathroom breaks take a toll on her body and her brain. “The constant worry of bleeding through your clothing plays on your emotions for sure,” said Davis, who began experiencing HUB about a year…
-
Iron Deficiency Anemia Can Cause Serious Problems for Pregnant Moms and Their Babies
Read More: Iron Deficiency Anemia Can Cause Serious Problems for Pregnant Moms and Their BabiesCarrie Jones was in her second trimester when her hemoglobin test came back with a low red blood cell count. “I wasn’t too surprised because my iron was low before I got pregnant — I couldn’t give blood,” she said. Jones is one of millions worldwide diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia (IDA), a common condition…
-
Anxiety, Depression, mental health, Orgasms, Pelvic health, Pelvic pain, Relationships, Sex, Sex & relationships, Sexual health
What Actually Happens in Sex Therapy?
Read More: What Actually Happens in Sex Therapy?What comes to mind when you hear the term “sex therapy”? For me, I picture a therapist sitting before a heterosexual couple in a darkened office. The people are visibly anxious, and the therapist is holding a dildo and a map of the female reproductive organs. “You put the penis here,” she says (in my…
-
Clinically Speaking: Talking to Patients About Uterine Fibroids
Read More: Clinically Speaking: Talking to Patients About Uterine FibroidsThis article was developed in partnership with The White Dress Project. Medically reviewed by Dr. Kristen A. Matteson Uterine fibroids are the most common gynecological condition among women of reproductive age. By the time they turn 50, up to 80% of all women will have developed fibroids, with 20% of those women experiencing symptoms that…
-
Clinically Speaking: What Are My Options Following a Fibroid Diagnosis?
Read More: Clinically Speaking: What Are My Options Following a Fibroid Diagnosis?This article was developed in partnership with The White Dress Project. Medically reviewed by Dr. Kristen A. Matteson Uterine fibroids are the most common gynecological condition among women of reproductive age. By the time they turn 50, up to 80% of all women will have experienced fibroids, which are noncancerous (benign) growths that develop in…
-
Clinically Speaking: What to Ask Your Healthcare Provider If You Think You Have Uterine Fibroids
Read More: Clinically Speaking: What to Ask Your Healthcare Provider If You Think You Have Uterine FibroidsThis article was developed in partnership with The White Dress Project. Medically reviewed by Dr. Kristen A. Matteson Uterine fibroids are the most common gynecological condition among women of reproductive age. By the time they turn 50, up to 80% of all women will have experienced fibroids, which are noncancerous (benign) growths that develop in…
-
Bladder, incontinence, Obesity, Pelvic health, Sex, Sex & relationships, Sexual health, Vaginal health
Fast Facts: What You Need to Know About Vaginal Prolapse
Read More: Fast Facts: What You Need to Know About Vaginal ProlapseMedically reviewed by Dr. Rashmi Kudesia It’s horrifying to think about, but your insides can sometimes bulge out through your vaginal opening. It’s called vaginal prolapse. And, although many women find it alarming and embarrassing, it’s more common than you probably think. More than one-third of U.S. women have some type of vaginal prolapse at…
-
Bladder, healthy aging, incontinence, Menopause, Oab, Overactive bladder, Pelvic health, Urinary tract infections, Urinary tracts conditions
What You Need to Know About Urinary Incontinence
Read More: What You Need to Know About Urinary IncontinenceReviewed by Melissa Nassaney. Urinary incontinence (UI) is often viewed as an unavoidable part of aging, something women must simply learn to tolerate as they get older. In truth, though aging contributes to UI, the condition is not inevitable and is actually quite treatable. UI can be very distressing and unpredictable and have a significant…
-
Chronic conditions, Endometriosis, Fatigue, Menstrual period, Pelvic health, Pelvic pain, Period, Pregnancy, Prevention, Sex
What is Endometriosis?
Read More: What is Endometriosis?This resource was created with the support of AbbVie.
-
Fast Facts: What You Need to Know About Endometriosis
Read More: Fast Facts: What You Need to Know About EndometriosisMedically reviewed by Dr. Robyn Faye. March is Endometriosis Awareness Month. Endometriosis is a painful condition that affects more than 11% of women ages 15-44. HealthyWomen reached out to Dr. Robyn Faye, an OB-GYN with the Abington Primary Women’s Healthcare Group and member of HealthyWomen’s Women’s Health Advisory Council, to get the basic facts. What…
-
How I Overcame Anal Cancer and Threw a Huge Party
Read More: How I Overcame Anal Cancer and Threw a Huge PartyAs told to Diana Whitney At first, I thought it was a hemorrhoid. I experienced a lot of itching and found blood in the toilet consistently for a few months. “This is not normal,” I thought. So I went to see my gynecologist, who had actually informed me years ago that I had HPV. She…
-
Fibroids, Heavy uterine bleeding, Hysterectomy, Iron deficiency anemia, Menstrual period, Pelvic health, Pelvic pain, Period, Prevention, Preventive health, Real women real stories
My Heavy Menstrual Bleeding Led to Iron-Deficiency Anemia and Disrupted My Career, but I Took My Life Back
Read More: My Heavy Menstrual Bleeding Led to Iron-Deficiency Anemia and Disrupted My Career, but I Took My Life BackI always knew I had a family history of fibroids and heavy menstrual bleeding. My grandmother and aunt both needed hysterectomies in their mid-30s, and my mother had one at age 40. But because I didn’t experience symptoms as early as my family members, I thought I’d escaped the odds. My heavy bleeding started when…
-
Fibroids, Heavy uterine bleeding, Iron deficiency anemia, Pelvic health, Pelvic pain, Real women real stories
I Thought My Heavy Bleeding Was Normal — Until It Almost Killed Me
Read More: I Thought My Heavy Bleeding Was Normal — Until It Almost Killed MeAs told to Diana Whitney About five years ago, my period changed drastically. I started having heavy bleeding, so heavy I had to change my pads every 30 minutes. I would bleed for two weeks or longer, then bleed in between cycles. I also had terrible clotting — the clots were huge, bigger than my…
-
cancer, Estrogen, Fibroids, Heavy uterine bleeding, Iron deficiency anemia, Menstrual period, Pelvic health, Progesterone
Iron Deficiency Anemia and Heavy Periods: What’s the Connection?
Read More: Iron Deficiency Anemia and Heavy Periods: What’s the Connection?Medically reviewed by Dr. Rashmi Kudesia Weakness, headaches, even feeling out of breath. These symptoms are common, but they may point to a larger problem: iron deficiency anemia (IDA). Although IDA is sometimes linked to insufficient iron intake or poor nutrient absorption, it is most often caused by blood loss, including from heavy menstrual periods.…
-
cancer, Estrogen, Fibroids, Heavy uterine bleeding, Iron deficiency anemia, Menstrual period, Pelvic health, Period, Progesterone
Why It’s Important to Speak Up About Heavy Uterine Bleeding
Read More: Why It’s Important to Speak Up About Heavy Uterine BleedingMedically reviewed by Dr. Rashmi Kudesia We may not hear about it much, but heavy uterine bleeding (HUB) is one of the most common gynecological complaints, affecting about one in four women in the United States. The biggest reason so many of us haven’t heard about HUB is because of the stigma associated with periods.…
-
cancer, Estrogen, Fibroids, Heavy uterine bleeding, Iron deficiency anemia, Menstrual period, Pelvic health, Progesterone
Heavy Uterine Bleeding May Cause This Potentially Serious Complication
Read More: Heavy Uterine Bleeding May Cause This Potentially Serious ComplicationMedically reviewed by Dr. Rashmi Kudesia Many women experience a day or two of heavy flow when they have their periods. But if you’re like the 10 million American women who experience heavy uterine bleeding (also called HUB or menorrhagia), your flow might feel more like a broken levee than a small, manageable stream. HUB…
-
cancer, Estrogen, Fibroids, Heavy uterine bleeding, Iron deficiency anemia, Menstrual period, Pelvic health, Progesterone
Important Questions to Ask About Heavy Uterine Bleeding and Its Potential Complications: Q & A with Dr. Rashmi Kudesia
Read More: Important Questions to Ask About Heavy Uterine Bleeding and Its Potential Complications: Q & A with Dr. Rashmi KudesiaMedically reviewed by Dr. Rashmi Kudesia If you find yourself having to wake up in the middle of the night to change your menstrual products, are bleeding for longer than a week or are passing large blood clots, it could be a sign of heavy uterine bleeding (HUB), also known as menorrhagia. While it may…
-
Need to Pee During Sex? How Overactive Bladder Affects Intimate Relationships
Read More: Need to Pee During Sex? How Overactive Bladder Affects Intimate RelationshipsFor women living with bladder challenges, communication and self-confidence may lead to a healthy sex life. The lights are low, the mood is right. But just as you and your partner are about to get hot and heavy, an urgent, immediate need to pee makes you rush to the bathroom — once again, your overactive…
-
New American Cancer Society Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines: Statement from HealthyWomen CEO Beth Battaglino, RN-C
Read More: New American Cancer Society Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines: Statement from HealthyWomen CEO Beth Battaglino, RN-CAt HealthyWomen, we believe that women should be educated and empowered to make the best health care decisions for themselves and their families. With this in mind, I’d like to discuss the new cervical cancer screening guidelines issued by the American Cancer Society (ACS). While we believe that the ACS had the best of intentions…
-
Hysterectomy Basics
Read More: Hysterectomy BasicsEvery year, roughly 500,000 people in the United States undergo a hysterectomy. This makes it the second most common surgery for people with uteruses behind cesarean sections. In 2018, nearly one-third of American women* aged 50 and older had had a hysterectomy, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Though hysterectomy…
-
Overactive Bladder: Those Awkward Questions You Want and Need to Ask
Read More: Overactive Bladder: Those Awkward Questions You Want and Need to AskWhile aging often ushers in many annoying and unwelcome changes such as the need for reading glasses or not being able to multitask like you used to, there’s one change that isn’t just another part of getting old: overactive bladder (OAB). A problem that affects 30% of men and 40% of women in the U.S.,…
-
How Women Can Manage Emotional Health and Overactive Bladder While Isolated at Home — and as States Reopen
Read More: How Women Can Manage Emotional Health and Overactive Bladder While Isolated at Home — and as States ReopenCurrently, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced billions of people around the world to quarantine at home. In addition to isolation, these extraordinary circumstances are causing many women to feel anxious or depressed. For women who have overactive bladder (OAB), the need to quarantine may not feel very different since OAB often keeps women homebound. As…
-
After My Hysterectomy, I’m Living My Best Life
Read More: After My Hysterectomy, I’m Living My Best LifeAs told to Diana Whitney I was pregnant with my first son when I was diagnosed with uterine fibroids in 2001. I was serving in the Navy at the time, and I finally understood why I’d been struggling to keep my weight at a certain threshold. It wasn’t my diet or my fitness — it…
-
Healing My Confidence and My Skin From Chronic Yeast Infection
Read More: Healing My Confidence and My Skin From Chronic Yeast Infection“Yeast? Like, in bread? How is that stuff, you know … down there?“ I had my first yeast infection when I was a preteen. I waited at least a week to tell the school nurse about the severe, itchy, burning pain. I regretted telling her at all. That nurse took one look at me and…
-
Pelvic health, Pelvic pain, Real women real stories, Sex, Sex & relationships, Sexual dysfunction, Sexual health, Vaginismus
From Vaginismus to Pleasure Warrior
Read More: From Vaginismus to Pleasure WarriorIn one of Netflix’s hottest new shows, Unorthodox, a young woman named Esty cannot consummate her marriage for almost a year due to excruciating attempts at coitus. Eventually, she’s given a diagnosis of vaginismus, the condition of having overly tight and weak pelvic floor muscles. This show transported me back to the ’80s, when I…
