Birth is the epicenter of women’s power…. —
Women are the most beautiful creation of god who have so much within her, let it comes to work , family, her career, her children her own life, we women do take care of everything that is around us .Do we really have attention to our health ? We all should have awareness about our body.
“The health status of the women directly reflects to the health status of the nation.”
In most countries women on average live longer than men , but appear to experience more sickness and ill- health than men. Among humans, women’s life span is almost 8% on average longer than men’s life span. As of 2017, life expectancy for men was 76.1 years, while life expectancy for women reached 81.1 years. And researchers estimate that the gap in longevity will continue. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women’s life expectancy is projected to reach 87.3 years by 2060, compared with 83.9 years for men. Now, why women live longer than men is another deep topic we have to discuss, and surely I will come up with this interesting piece in my next article .
As of now here I would love to focus on Women health and care .While women tend toward more physical illness, disability days and health care utilization. The concept of women health has become the major concern of many developing countries. India has made outstanding progress in terms of social and economic development however, when it comes to infant mortality and illiteracy shows that it lagged behind in the improvement of women’s health.
“There are on average about 250 babies born every minute — more than 130 million in a year.”
The number of births in the world is expected in 2030 is at around 140 million births per year. If we assume the global child mortality rate to remain at the level it was at the beginning of the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) era(4.5%) then we would live in a world with 6.3 million child deaths every year, that is 100 million deaths until 2030.
- Maternal mortality from 2000 to 2017 ratio was declined by 38 per cent — from 342 deaths to 211 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to UN inter-agency estimates. This translates into an average annual rate of reduction of 2.9 per cent.
- Still, over 800 women are dying each day from complications in pregnancy and childbirth. And for every woman who dies, approximately 20 others suffer serious injuries, infections or disabilities.
- India has committed itself to the latest UN target for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for MMR at 70 per 1,00,000 live births by 2030. As per NHP (National Health Policy) in 2017, the target for MMR was 100 per 1,00,000 live births by 2020. However, yet the data has to come and will keep the track of this series.
- Pregnancy involves a vulnerability that put women at risk of dying, and India is one of many countries who record a high amount of pregnancy related deaths of women each year.
Social factors which influence maternal mortality in India are :-
- Income inequality in India.
- Level of access to Parental care and care in Postpartum period.
- Level of women education.
- The position of the mother’s community in the regional rural — urban divide.
- The mother’s access to nutrition during pregnancy.
- The degree of local sanitization.
- The caste position of the mother.
“A woman’s health is her capital.” — Unknown
Women are probably dying because of irregular and ignorant to access of medical treatment on time. Lack of knowledge related to sexual and reproductive system , diseases that occurs in the transition from reproductive to non — reproductive phase in women is the result of major reduction in female hormone production by the ovaries .This transition is normally not sudden but tends to occur over a period of years and is a natural consequence of ageing which is termed as menopause. This affects the women in many ways . Post menopausal women have an increased risk for number of disease like osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease, gynecological malignancies, uterine prolapse, infections and various genitourinary conditions because of the inherent hormonal changes.
Women themselves may not seek care , often because they accept the physical discomforts associated with reproductive tract problems as natural process of ageing.
Now , lets learn about this diseases in simple words as biological reasons and explanation are hard to understand.
Osteoporosis and Cardiovascular
- Now what is OSTEOPOROSIS first , it is the bone disease that occurs when the body loses too much bone , makes too little bone or both.
- CARDIOVASCULAR is the general term associated with heart or blood vessels.
Gynecological Malignancies (CANCER)
It means Gynecological cancer. There are six main types of Gynecological cancers : -
- CERVICAL — Cervical cancer is a type of cancer that occurs in the cells of the cervix — the lower part of the uterus that connects to the vagina.
- OVARION — Ovarian cancer is a type of cancer that begins in the ovaries. The female reproductive system contains two ovaries, one on each side of the uterus. The ovaries each about the size of an almond produce eggs (ova) as well as the hormones estrogen and progesterone.
- UTERINE — Uterine cancer is a type that forms in tissues of the uterus that is the small, hollow, pear-shaped organ in a woman’s pelvis in which a fetus develops.
- VAGINAL — Vaginal cancer is a rare cancer that occurs in your vagina ,the muscular tube that connects your uterus with your outer genitals. Vaginal cancer most commonly occurs in the cells that line the surface of your vagina, which is sometimes called the birth canal.
- VULVAR — Vulvar cancer is a type of cancer that occurs on the outer surface area of the female genitalia. The vulva is the area of skin that surrounds the urethra and vagina, including the clitoris and labia.
- FALLOPION (Rarest cancer) — Fallopian tube cancer is very rare. Only about 1% of all reproductive cancers in women start in the fallopian tubes. This type of cancer is treatable.
Uterine Prolapse
Uterine prolapse results from the weakening of pelvic muscles and supportive tissues. This is caused due to following reasons and may occur in any stage and age of women’s life.
- Pregnancy.
- Trauma during Childbirth.
- Delivery of large baby.
- Being overweight or obese.
- Lower estrogen level after menopause.
- Chronic cough.
- Repeated heavy lifting.
RISK DURING PREGNANCY.
- Many women who become pregnant already have chronic conditions like High Blood Pressure and obesity that can negatively impact their pregnancy and future health. Others develop Health problems during pregnancy.
- The two major pregnancy's and delivery complications women face are PRE-ECLAMPSIA(a condition marked by high blood pressure , swelling and damage to the kidney and liver) and GESTATIONAL DIABETES (a form of the illness that develop during pregnancy).
- Both of these conditions are associated with basically a doubling in their lifelong risk of cardiovascular disease.
It Is really important to be sure that the women is receiving the integrated care, so that her mental health is not seen as completely separate from her physical health.
POST PREGNANCY CARE
Many Moms don’t seek medical care after having babies. Doctors generally advice them to come back after 6 to 12 weeks of post delivery . But 20 to 40 percent of women don’t get to that appointment. Other research shows that 15 % of women don’t have a primary care doctor after delivery.
“ Women are young don’t go the doctor every year unless they’ve got a problem, so they are not monitored. “
Pregnancy is a time of great physical and emotional change for women. Everything from belly size to heartbeat speed will change over the 9 months leading up to childbirth. Pregnancy takes your mind and body through an ongoing stream of changes. At certain times, this can make you feel exhausted , forgetful, or moody. This is how women undergoes emotionally , physically , mentally throughout this phase and lot of things that she handles in everyday life. It is important for every women to understand her health and take proper treatments and care from time to time.
This is how you need to know how the health affects of the women in her every stage of life from the age she has the mensuration till it lasts. Even a slight Ignorance can lead to dangerous disease. Hence, education and proper medication has to be provided and should reach every part of the world in order to maintain the life of women healthy and safe. Don’t forget the life you have is given by the women with all her heart and blood and water.
“The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never.
Thank you for reading and take care of yourself as you are important part of this world. 💕
“ Being a healthy woman isn’t about getting on a scale or measuring your waistline.” — Michelle Obama