Well Woman Health Check Up: All You Need To Know

The health check-up of a woman is still a foreign concept for many countries. Traditionally, in many cultures, women are not encouraged to take care and look after their body well. This leads to ignorance towards women’s health and health care in general. So a lot of women are confused about their first visit to a gynaecologist. They do not know what to expect during this visit and how to prepare for it.

Here are a few guidelines to prepare for a well woman health check up.

1. Gather your medical history since childhood.

Not just for a menstrual health checkup, but for any health check-up, it is important to gather your medical history since childhood. This does not mean gathering the statistics about how many times you had a fever and cold. But it is more about long-term illnesses or any serious illnesses that you suffered from as a child. This helps your doctor get an idea about the pattern of your health and if there are any allergies.

Some diseases give rise to complications in menstrual cycles. There could be some complications that would lead to the development of PCOS. Information related to these complications would be important for a woman’s health checkup. Many times, women’s menstrual health conditions are a side effect of some other drug that they were administered. So to solve menstrual problems, additional drugs are not required. Instead of that, the changes in the other drugs would be advisable. Hence, medical history regarding any comorbidities is important.

2. Gather your medical history regarding menstrual and reproductive health.

Irrespective of your age, it is wise to gather your menstrual and reproductive health history. Details regarding your first menstrual cycle, the pattern that your body has followed all this while would help your gynaecologist gaze regularly at your periods. Apart from that, if you have had any childbirths, pregnancies, miscarriages and medically terminated pregnancies, the information and timing related to it should be shared with your gynaecologist. This helps them give you the best advice in improving your overall health. This also helps them understand the pattern of your hormones during a well woman check London.

3. Get ready for a pelvic exam.

One of the important parts of a woman’s health checkup is a pelvic examination. The pelvic examination involves three stages. In the first stage, the doctor examines the external part of your reproductive organs and their health. In the second part, the gynaecologist takes a closer look at the vaginal walls and the inner part of your clitoris and cervix to get an idea of the well being of your reproductive system. This is done by inserting a speculum inside the vagina. In the third stage of the examination, the doctor may collect some samples for further laboratory analysis. This would give an idea of any sexually transmitted infections.

4. Get ready for breast examination.

Breast examination is one of the most important processes of a well woman check in London. The gynaecologist checks for any lumps and teaches you how to perform a breast examination once each month. The changes in the structure and appearance of your breasts would be asked to check for patterns if any. You are also asked about the pattern of breastfeeding if you are a lactating mother.

5. Some ultrasounds might be advised for further examination.

In case the doctor suspects any complications regarding the pattern of your menstrual cycles or during your breast examination, you would be asked to perform some ultrasounds to get an idea about the lumps and clots that might be existing in your uterus or breasts. This is usually done to rule out the possibility of these lumps or clots being cancerous.

6. There might be some questions related to sexual activities.

The gynaecologist would ask you certain questions related to your sexual activity. There might be a possibility of sexually transmitted infections. Along with that, there is also a possibility of you being allergic to certain lubricants and condoms. To understand that, your sexual history is required.

To get your well woman health check up done, visit Well Women Clinic.