When Kim Newcomer began experiencing severe constipation, she initially thought it was related to travel. “Thinking about my week-long vacation with my husband, I figured that travel and unusual food were to blame,” says Newcomer. It would have been easy to dismiss her symptoms or chalk it up to the disruption to her routine — but Newcomer opted to speak with her physician. “I visited my primary care doctor, who ordered an X-ray to check for an intestinal blockage. Finding none, he prescribed laxatives, but the constipation continued,” she said. “As the months passed, I developed...

Irritable Bowel Syndrome. It’s a painful, challenging, and sometimes downright embarrassing condition that can have you running to the bathroom at the worst times. Fortunately, IBS is a very manageable condition with the right care and strategies to help control your symptoms. If you suspect that you have IBS, the first step is to consult with your doctor to determine the best care plan for you. But did you know that there are also some at-home ways to relieve your discomfort? First, what is IBS? IBS is a chronic condition that affects both the stomach and...

My husband Sean and I met in college and were married in 2015. As soon as he proposed, I carefully laid out a plan: we would marry, two years later, we’d have our first baby, and two years after that, we’d have our second baby, completing our family by 2019. But the universe had different ideas. Sean was diagnosed with male factor infertility in 2018, meaning we had less than a 1% chance of conceiving naturally. Sean has a medical condition that affects his sperm motility; his sperm have trouble moving in the right direction, making...

It’s safe to say that no one really looks forward to a Pap smear…maybe you even pay special attention to your period tracker beforehand to see if you might have a heavy flow day and a good excuse to postpone. However, the Pap smear, also known as a Pap test, which tests for abnormal cells on the cervix that could lead to cervical cancer, is an indicator of your cervical health and a super important preventative health measure to take.  If you have your annual OB/GYN visit locked in already, what can you do to prepare...

When Victoria Raphael was diagnosed with breast cancer at 33, she was in “total shock” — which makes perfect sense. At 33, she certainly didn’t fit the profile of a typical breast cancer patient. Raphael didn’t immediately think about the need to consider fertility preservation ahead of treatment, but, as she quickly learned, that’s something many young breast cancer patients need to think about (on top of the realities of facing the disease, of course).  “The fact that my fertility might be affected [by treatments for breast cancer did not cross my mind at all,” she...

No one really wants to talk about sexually transmitted infections, especially if they’ve been affected by them, but it’s an important conversation to have to make topics like this less taboo. More significantly, we need to address the disparities in STI cases and care. Here’s a stat that everyone should know: In the year 2022, the CDC reports that Black Americans were diagnosed with 31.1% of cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis. Those who identify as Black women are specifically affected by long-term (sometimes referred to as “lifetime”) STIs such as herpes simplex much more frequently...

I’m a cardiologist’s daughter, so I’ve spent a lot of my life hearing about heart disease. But even for someone like me — who grew up listening to dinnertime conversations peppered with cardiology terms — there’s a very specific picture that pops into mind when I think about heart health, especially in the context of heart attacks. Societally, we have this idea of who a heart patient is: A middle-aged man. We rarely think about heart health as a women’s health issue, but we need to change that. Because women also have cardiac issues and heart...

A Pap smear — a screening test performed every three years by an OB/GYN during an annual wellness exam — is the best way to check for abnormal cells in the cervix and monitor your risk of cervical cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, patients who receive regular Pap testing reduce their risk of cervical cancer by up to 80%.  So you might be thinking: okay, then why else might I get an “abnormal” result? Well, the fact of the matter is, according to the National Institute of Health, 3 to 5% of Pap smears...

When you’re trying to conceive, the very act of intercourse can sometimes feel like a slog. The joy of sex sure can get lost when you’re thinking more about ovulation predictor kits than mutual pleasure. And if you’re undergoing fertility treatments, well, adding pills, injections, and medical procedures to the mix is hardly a recipe for fun. Especially if you’re hoping to get pregnant with twins. Whether or not you’re TTC, one of the easiest ways to spice things up in the bedroom is by trying out different sex positions. This is a fantastic way to...

If you’re actively trying to conceive (TTC), you know that timing intercourse around ovulation is key to getting pregnant. The app tells you that your fertile window is coming up and ovulation day is near.  But as ovulation day approaches, life gets in the way of your fertility plans. Maybe you worked late and aren’t feeling sexy. Maybe your partner got invited on a bro trip and suffers from perpetual FOMO. What happens if you can’t do the deed on ovulation day? The answer to this question lies in another question: Do you have a 100%...