Women's Health Health Center

Women's health generally covers the topics of reproductive health, sexual health, and the changes of menopause. A woman's body is unique as it goes through many changes throughout her life in order to prepare her for having a baby and the end of her childbearing years.

Sexual Health: Contraception, or birth control, is used to avoid pregnancy while still being sexually active. Some forms of birth control include barrier methods to block fertilization and hormonal birth control such as pills, patches and vaginal rings.

STDs, or sexually transmitted diseases, can develop as a result of unprotected sex. While some are treatable, others have no cure. Regular STD vaccination and testing can be beneficial for those who are sexually active.

Reproductive Health: The female reproductive system begins preparing early in a woman's life for the eventual ability to carry a child to term. Menstruation begins at puberty, and the body again changes during the time of pregnancy. Human pregnancy typically lasts 40 weeks or nine months from the start of the last menstrual cycle to the time of childbirth.

Menopause: Menopause is a normal and expected time in a female’s life when the monthly menstrual cycle stops, though symptoms can appear several years before. The average age of a woman's last period is 51 but can range from her early 40s to late 50s. Symptoms of menopause can last months to years with the varying changes to estrogen and progesterone levels, female hormones created in the ovaries.