Women's body & health
Guides on heart health, pregnancy, periods, menopause, and screening, plus questions to ask your doctor and the research gaps that shape women's care.
Practical guides
In-depth articles: what to know, what to ask, and where to get help. Every fact is sourced. All articles
Heart, screening, and long-term health
- Heart attack symptoms in womenChest pain is the most common heart attack symptom in women, but other signs are common too. What to watch for, why care gets delayed, and when to call 911.
- Stroke: signs, emergency response, and risk in womenSudden numbness, confusion, trouble seeing or walking, or a severe headache can mean stroke. Call 911. The signs, why time matters, and risks for women.
- Protecting your heart: blood pressure, cholesterol, and heart disease riskHigh blood pressure and cholesterol usually cause no symptoms. What the numbers mean, when to get checked, risks specific to women, and where guidelines differ.
- Osteoporosis and bone health after menopauseWhy bone loss speeds up after menopause, who should get a bone density test, what a T-score means, and where guidance on supplements and medicines differs.
- Breast cancer screening: what changed and whyMammograms every other year now start at 40, and your mammogram results must tell you about breast density. What changed, why, and what's still unknown.
- Cervical cancer screening you can do yourself: HPV self-collectionCervical cancer is almost always caused by HPV. How screening works, what self-collected HPV tests are, what the FDA has approved, and what the guidelines say.
Pregnancy and after birth
- Urgent warning signs during pregnancy and after birthSomething feels wrong during pregnancy or after birth? Which warning signs need care right away, when to call 911, and what to tell the people treating you.
- Pregnancy loss: physical recovery, emotional health, and when to get careMiscarriage and stillbirth: warning signs that need care now, what causes loss, treatment options, physical recovery, grief, and where to find support.
- Recovering after birth and the postpartum checkupWhat's typical in the weeks after birth, recovering from a cesarean, when ACOG recommends postpartum care, and what the checkup may cover.
- Maternal health gaps in the U.S.Most U.S. pregnancy-related deaths are preventable, and many happen weeks or months after birth. What the data show, who is most at risk, and when to get help.
- After preeclampsia or gestational diabetesPreeclampsia and gestational diabetes usually end with pregnancy, but they're linked to heart disease, stroke, and diabetes later. What to know and what to ask.
- Infertility: when evaluation is recommended and what it involvesWhen ACOG, ASRM, and CDC say to seek a fertility evaluation, reasons to go sooner, what tests may involve for both partners, and common causes.
Periods, hormones, and menopause
- When period pain isn't "just cramps"Some period pain is common, but pain that disrupts your life is worth checking. The two types, signs of another cause, what helps, and when to get care fast.
- Heavy periods and iron deficiency: signs, causes, and careHeavy periods are common but not normal, and they are a leading cause of low iron. What counts as heavy, what causes it, and which tests and treatments help.
- Uterine fibroids: symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment optionsFibroids are common, noncancerous growths in the uterus. Who gets them, symptoms, how they're found, and what sources say about each treatment option.
- Endometriosis: why diagnosis can take yearsEndometriosis is common, painful, and often missed for years. What it is, why diagnosis is slow, how it's diagnosed and treated, and what research still lacks.
- PCOS explained: symptoms, diagnosis, and long-term healthPCOS is one of the most common hormonal conditions in women, and many who have it don't know. What it is, how it's diagnosed, and why it matters long term.
- Perimenopause and menopause: symptoms, timeline, and what helpsWhat perimenopause and menopause are, when they happen, common symptoms, when bleeding needs a checkup, and an overview of what helps, from trusted sources.
- Menopause hormone therapy: what changed and what we knowWhy hormone therapy's reputation swung after 2002, what FDA changed on its labels in 2025–2026, and what current sources say about benefits, risks, and options.
Sexual, vaginal, and urinary health
- Emergency contraception: options and timingAfter sex without birth control or a condom break: how emergency contraception pills and the copper IUD differ, how soon to use them, and what to expect after.
- STI testing: who should be tested and whenMany STIs cause no symptoms. What the CDC and USPSTF recommend for chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV, and more, what testing involves, and where to go.
- Painful sex and vaginal or vulvar symptoms: when to get carePain during sex, unusual discharge, itching, or dryness have many possible causes. What medical sources say causes them, how they differ, and when to get care.
- UTIs: symptoms, recurrence, and when to get careBurning when you pee? What a UTI is, signs a kidney infection may need prompt care, how UTIs are treated, why they come back, and what helps prevent them.
Getting care and being heard
- When women's pain is dismissedStudies find women's pain is sometimes undertreated, and some painful conditions take years to diagnose. What research shows, where it's mixed, and what helps.
- Why women were left out of medical researchFor decades, rules meant to protect pregnancies kept women out of early drug trials. Here's what happened, what it cost, and the gaps that remain.
Also useful
- Postpartum depression vs. the baby bluesThe baby blues fade within about 2 weeks. Postpartum depression lasts longer, is more severe, and is treatable. How to tell them apart and where to get help.Mental health
- Your rights at work while pregnant or nursing (U.S.)Federal laws protect pregnant and nursing workers in the U.S. Learn about accommodations, pumping breaks, leave, and how to file a charge before deadlines pass.Rights & safety
What you can do
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Questions to ask your doctor
Ten questions from the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to bring to your next appointment.
See the questionsSupport is available
See all support options, questions to ask your doctor, or how to help someone else.
National Maternal Mental Health Hotline
Call 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262) or text 1-833-852-6262. Free and confidential. English and Spanish. TTY: use a relay service or dial 711, then 1-833-852-6262.10
Call 1-833-TLC-MAMA988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. Free and confidential. ASL via videophone.11
Call or text 988If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
What the research shows
The evidence behind this topic. Global figures unless labeled U.S. Superscripts link to the full source list. Use "Save image" to share a stat.
Women live longer than men but spend 25% more of their lives in poor health.
women died every day in 2023 from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, about 260,000 in total. Most of these deaths were preventable.
Endometriosis affects an estimated 10% of reproductive-age women worldwide, and it can also affect mental health, including depression and anxiety.
U.S.Heart disease caused about 1 in 5 female deaths in 2023 (304,970 women), yet only about 56% of women recognize it as their No. 1 killer.
U.S.Women were not required to be included in NIH-funded clinical research in the U.S. until the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993.
U.S.prescription drugs withdrawn from the U.S. market from 1997 to 2000 posed greater health risks for women than for men.
Picture it
The same numbers, drawn to scale.
You're not imagining it
Common things women hear, and what the data says.
Myth
Heart disease is mostly a men's problem.
Fact
U.S.Heart disease caused about 1 in 5 female deaths in 2023 (304,970 women), yet only about 56% of women recognize it as their No. 1 killer.6
Myth
Medical research has always included women.
Fact
Women were not required to be included in NIH-funded clinical research in the U.S. until the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993.9
Myth
Endometriosis is rare.
Fact
Endometriosis affects an estimated 10% of reproductive-age women worldwide, and it can also affect mental health, including depression and anxiety.5
Myth
Deaths from pregnancy and childbirth can't be prevented.
Fact
~712 women died every day in 2023 from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, about 260,000 in total. Most of these deaths were preventable.4
Myth
Approved medicines are equally safe for women and men.
Fact
8 of 10 prescription drugs withdrawn from the U.S. market from 1997 to 2000 posed greater health risks for women than for men.21
Women in medical research: a U.S. timeline
Why so much of what we know about health was learned from men first.
- 1977
An FDA guideline restricted women who could become pregnant from taking part in early clinical trials of drugs.37
- 1986
NIH adopted a policy urging researchers to include women in clinical research. It was first published in 1987.38
- 1990
NIH established the Office of Research on Women's Health.39
- 1993
The NIH Revitalization Act, signed into law on June 10, 1993, required that women and members of minority groups be included in NIH-funded clinical research.40
- 1993
On July 22, 1993, the FDA lifted its restriction on most women who could become pregnant joining early drug trials, and began encouraging them to take part.41
- 2001
A U.S. Government Accountability Office report found that 8 of the 10 prescription drugs withdrawn from the U.S. market since January 1, 1997, posed greater health risks for women than for men.21
- 2013
The FDA lowered the recommended dose of the sleep drug zolpidem (Ambien and others) for women, who clear it from their bodies more slowly than men, raising the risk of impairment the next morning.42
- 2016
NIH began expecting researchers to account for sex as a biological variable in studies of vertebrate animals and humans.43