National Women’s Health Day, India Part 3

 


Significance of marking a day to celebrate Women’s Health !

For Anandibai, the loss of her child brought to light the imperfections of midwives and lack of adequate healthcare for women. Her motivation to study medicine came from the urge to provide better care for women than what she had received. 

Nearly 150 years later medical services have improved but women’s health continues to be an ignored issue, ironically due to women ignoring it! We are very good caregivers for everyone except ourselves! 

Just yesterday I was seeing an African American woman in her late seventies for the first time. She had not taken her blood pressure or cholesterol medication in over a year. She couldn’t remember the last time she had a mammogram or colonoscopy. She had gained weight from eating when stressed and from not exercising. Her hips and knees hurt. There was no follow up on her diabetes for a few years. She had been the caregiver for her husband for a long time until he passed away from cancer last year. Her mother was going to be 100 this year and she attended to her needs. She was proud of her son, 13 grandchildren( six of whom she had raised after her daughter died at 25), 29 great grandchildren and 10 great great grandchildren! She told me they were all doing great. But her own health was in shambles! This is more or less the story of most women. Everybody else is important to them except themselves! 

When will we learn to include ourselves in the people to care for ? 

How many young women are ignorant about safe sexual behaviors, prevention of sexually transmitted diseases?
How many get screened for cervical cancers in a timely way?
How many are reluctant to get mammograms for various reason? It hurts! I don’t want to know if I have cancer! It exposes me to radiation! No one in my family has cancer!
How many avoid getting a colonoscopy or other means of screening for colon cancer when they are eligible for it?
How many talk to their health care providers about domestic violence,cheating spouses or their mental health issues? 
How many bother to report fatigue from anemia arising from excess menstrual bleeding?
How many simply pull on until they collapse one day?

When a nation celebrates one day a year as women’s health day it is just a small gesture to bring the thought to the forefront. It is an opportunity for the medical professionals to reach out to the women they care for and educate and emphasize their health to them. It is to start the conversation about restoring the well-being of the women that has been neglected in the process of caring for their families. 

As a primary physician I tell my patients, if you are in the younger group 18-40 my focus is to make you invest in your health starting now with a goal for prevention, so you don’t come to me when you are fifty or sixty with problems like diabetes or high blood pressure or heart disease. Adopt healthy eating habits, exercise regularly, strive to maintain healthy weight, manage stress better, sleep on time, drink more water, stay away from smoking, drugs or excess alcohol and develop good relationships. When you are eligible for cancer screenings get these done in a timely way. Check your breasts each month and come to me to get it checked once a year. Simple things that will go a long way to serve you well.
Older folks who failed to invest in healthy living I have to treat their illnesses which are more or less irreversible at that point. There is lot that can be done to keep them stable but goals are different in these people. 

Mothers need to understand that the best way to teach healthy habits to their families is through example. You buy healthy stuff, cook it in a healthy manner and serve healthy portions. You set aside time for your exercise before you insist on the same from your family. Get your cervical and breast cancer screenings. Schedule your colon cancer screenings as per the guidelines from your doctor. Ask your doctor about bone health, especially after menopause. Don’t defer seeking checkups when you have nagging symptoms that interfere with you feeling well. Motivate other women in your family and friends circle to do the same and stay on top of their health. 

Government and medical professionals can only help you if you make yourself available for the help. The resources can only be used if you accept them. Your vigilance in your health matters can yield amazing rewards for a better life. 

Every year on February 26th when you hear the proclamation about National Women’s Health Day remember to talk to your doctor about what screenings you are due for. Review the past year and see what you did right and what you can do better in the coming year where your health is concerned. And talk to at least one other woman and convince her to take charge of her own health.  Make Anandibai’s vision for better health for women become a reality …..one woman at a time…beginning with yourself! 

Saree is a favorite cotton jamdani in pearl white. 




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