Gaining weight is a natural part of growing a baby in your womb. Being overweight or obese while you are pregnant, however, can carry additional risks for your pregnancy.

Having a baby as you approach middle age can be an unexpected surprise or a long hoped-for blessing. But there are risks to having babies as women grow older.

Severe, long-term pelvic pain in women could be more than cramps during her period. Endometriosis might be to blame, and it was believed to be more common in older women.

You’ve no doubt heard that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) used for menopause symptoms increases breast cancer risks. More recent studies have found that maybe HRT is okay. Now the pendulum has swung back.  

Elevated sex hormone levels in pregnant women or in those who take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) were often believed to be the culprit behind prevalent heartburn in women. But that may not be the case.

Bone density begins to decline when women hit menopause. Along with the risks for osteoporosis for women in this age group, osteoarthritis and pain in the joints can also be a concern.

Beyond a family practice or internal medicine doctor, women can visit their gynecologists for medical issues. Obstetrics and gynecology doctors, or OB/GYNs, can provide the same medical expertise and advice as a regular doctor.

To ensure hormone levels stay balanced and regulate the body, women who hit menopause may start hormone therapy. But menopause hormone therapies are not without risk.

Women used to rely on hormonal replacement therapy (HRT)​ to calm the discomforts of menopause. Then a study linked HRT to breast cancer, and everything changed.