How to maintain reproductive health

By Dr. Gayathri D Kamath

Covid 19 pandemic did create a radical change in many lives and lockdown, children staying at home with online classes, lack of support system, and working from home have taken a toll on the mental health of people across all age groups, especially women.

Present-day women don many hats from being the primary nurturer to caregiver, while balancing domestic responsibilities and professional goals. There is a strong likelihood for them to neglect their health. Therefore it is important they eat a healthy well-balanced diet and engage in regular physical activity as a woman, especially if you are trying to conceive.

Eat Right
It is essential that one maintains a well-balanced healthy diet with the right number of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. The diet should also be enriched with fiber and water for the smooth functioning of the body machinery. Eating small meals at frequent intervals and avoiding binge eating must be inculcated into the daily routine, whether at work or home.

If home-cooked meals seem bothersome, one needs to resort to fruits and nuts to get the necessary nutrients rather than resorting to munching on unhealthy food. Consuming milk and milk products are essential to satiate the calcium demands needed for the bones and teeth.

Limit Or Quit Bad Habits
Smoking and excess alcohol consumption have detrimental effects on the reproductive outcome. Abnormal babies, premature labor, miscarriages, placental separation, the intrauterine demise of the fetus are some of the complications which women face with such addictions. If addicted, one needs to seek professional help or support groups to help overcome these habits.

Exercise Regularly
Maintaining the right weight is important for a good reproductive outcome. Indulging in regular physical activity can help release endorphins, improving the happiness quotient. Women with a genetic predisposition to the polycystic ovarian syndrome, like a history of diabetes in a first degree relative, need to be extra cautious of maintaining the ideal weight. Weight gain in such cases can lead to irregular cycles and difficulty conceiving.

Menstrual Health
Usage of sanitary pads, menstrual cups, or tampons needs to be adopted based on the women’s preferences while maintaining a menstrual calendar to identify pregnancy early might be helpful. Vaginal discharge in terms of white discharge is considered normal as long as it is not heavy, not changing colour to yellow or green, not foul-smelling, or associated with itching. It is essential to make women understand that nature has gifted good vaginal bacteria such as lactobacillus, which does not grow pathogenic, bad bacteria or fungus. Hence over douching the vagina with the hand faucet every time one goes to empty bladder should be strongly discouraged.

To maintain hygiene in that area, dabbing the private parts with dry tissue, usage of panty liners can be done instead of washing. It is, however, good practice to wash the area thoroughly while bathing, after emptying bowels, and before getting to bed.

Consuming a bowl of curds can help replenish the good bacteria in the vagina. Also, since the skin in the private part is sensitive, cotton innerwear rather than synthetic material is recommended.

Infections
Young girls and women of the present-day need to be made aware of the possibility of contracting sexually transmitted infections like herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhoea, etc. despite the usage of barriers such as condoms.

If untreated, it can cause infections that can ascend to the fallopian tubes causing future fertility concerns and enhancing chances of having an ectopic pregnancy. Persistent infection with some strains of human papillomavirus can cause cervical cancer in a small segment of women and hence women are advised to take cervical cancer vaccine much before their sexual debut and do their cervical smear (pap) examinations every three yearly.

Contraception
Today, women have a good range of contraceptive options depending on their age group, desire for future children, frequency of sexual intercourse, etc. Women need to be counselled about the failure rate of emergency contraception which is the morning-after pill to be used within 72 hours post unprotected coitus. It is also important to make women understand that emergency contraception should not be used as a regular mode of contraception since it fails in some cases, and it fires the menstrual rhythm as well.

(The author is Senior Consultant, Fortis Hospitals, Bengaluru.)