Health literacy is important across the board, regardless of which aspect of your health we’re talking about. However, there are a few aspects of health that we don’t talk about as much. One of those areas is reproductive health. If you want children at some point, then it’s important to make sure that you’re taking care of the parts of your body that make it all happen. Here are a few steps you can take to that end.
Know which habits do harm
Every habit that we indulge in has a certain risk that comes with it, and this can be true of your reproductive health as well as the rest of it. Weight management, for instance, is important. A healthy weight raises your chances of fertility, while both being underweight or overweight can actively damage it. Two other habits you should aim to quit include alcohol consumption and smoking tobacco. Aside from affecting your fertility, these can also lead to birth complications.
Know your birth control
Advances in medical science have been providing a wider range of birth control than ever. That said, there are pros and cons to the different types of contraception that you can use, whether it’s rates of effectiveness, some side effects you might experience with medication, or contraceptive treatments. As such, it’s a good idea to select contraception with the help of a doctor and with your goals and needs in mind. The contraceptives that work for one person might not be the best choice for another, but there are options available, and there’s no better place to find out about them than a clinic that specializes in them.
Mind your menstrual health, period
There are plenty of women who can have a tough time during their period. However, you can reduce the stress that comes with it by, for instance, trying out different menstruation product options. If tampons haven’t been kind to you in the past, try switching to pads or menstrual cups. Whatever you wear, it’s important to change them after 4 hours, max, to maintain menstrual hygiene. Try to avoid doing anything too taxing during your period and find ways to give yourself a little leisure time, whether it’s yoga, reading, taking a walk, or whatever works for you.
Know your body clock
There’s naturally some anxiety that women can experience when they consider fertility and the question of ageing. IT happens to all of us, but how does it affect your ability to healthily carry to term and safely give birth? There’s nothing to say that the door closes for a woman at any specific age, but it’s good to have a checkup with your fertility doctor and to have a realistic idea of the chances of getting and staying pregnant at different ages. You have to consider your priorities at the different stages of your life with all of the facts in mind.
Whether you want to have children or not is up to you, but your reproductive health also affects other parts of your life, such as the risk of chronic issues like PCOS, cancer rates, and so on. Make sure you get your regular checkups, don’t skip the gynaecologist, and take good care of yourself.
