Hesperian Health Guides
More Ways to Prevent Illness
HealthWiki > Where Women Have No Doctor > Chapter 10: Staying Healthy > More Ways to Prevent Illness
Contents
Rest and Exercise
Work with your community to lower women’s workload. Stoves that use less fuel and village water sources improve everyone’s lives.
Rest
Most women work very hard cooking, carrying water, and collecting fuel to help their families survive. If a woman also works outside her home, she has a double burden. She may work all day at a factory, in an office, or in the fields, and then return home to a second job—caring for her family. All this hard work can lead to exhaustion, malnutrition, and sickness, because she does not have enough time to rest or enough food to give her energy to fulfill her tasks.
To reduce a woman’s workload, family members can share the burden of work at home. Cooking, cleaning, and gathering fuel and water with other women (together or in turns) can also make a woman’s burden lighter. Whether working for pay or not, she might need help caring for her children. Some families organize childcare cooperatives, where one person cares for young children so that others can work. Each family pays something to the person caring for the children or they each take a turn.
Even more rest is needed during pregnancy. Everyone needs extra help from family members and friends to lighten their workload during pregnancy
Exercise
Most people get plenty of exercise doing their daily tasks. But if someone does not move much while they work—for example, if they sit or stand all day in a factory or office—they should try to walk and stretch every day. This will help keep their heart, lungs, and bones strong. Regular exercise also supports mental health and helps prevent depression.
Regular health exams
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Many STIs and cancers do not show signs until the illness is very serious. By then it may be too late to treat the problem.
You should see a trained health worker to check your reproductive system every 3 to 5 years, even if you feel fine. This exam should include a pelvic exam (explained below), a breast exam, a test for anemia, and an exam for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). It may also include a test for cancer of the cervix (the opening of the womb). This is especially important for people who are 35 and older, as risk of cervical cancer increases with age.
What to expect during a pelvic exam:
This exam is more comfortable if your bladder is empty and you relax your muscles.
- A health worker will look at your outer genitals for any swelling, bumps, sores, or changes in color.
- Then the health worker will use a small metal or plastic tool called a speculum to hold your vagina open. You may feel some pressure or discomfort with the speculum inside, but it should not hurt. The health worker will examine the walls of the vagina and the cervix for swelling, bumps, sores, or discharge.
- If the clinic has laboratory services, the health worker may test for STIs. The health worker may also test for changes on the opening of the womb (cervix) that could become cancer. They may do a Pap test, visual inspection of the cervix, or a test to look for the virus that causes cervical cancer. These tests are done with the speculum in place. If cervical cancer is found and treated early, it can almost always be cured.
- The health worker will remove the speculum and will put on a clean plastic glove and put two fingers of one hand into your vagina. They will press their other hand on your lower belly to feel the size, shape, and location of your womb, tubes, and ovaries. This part of the exam should not be painful. If it is, let them know. It may mean something is wrong.
- For some problems, the health worker may need to do a rectal exam. One finger is put into your rectum and one finger into your vagina. This can give the health worker more information about possible problems of the vagina, womb, tubes, and ovaries.
Safer sex
Practicing safer sex protects you from STIs and unwanted pregnancies.
You can protect yourself from STIs and unwanted pregnancies while enjoying a healthy sex life. The main way to do this is by using a condom every time you have sex. Condoms are affordable, easy to use, and widely available.
Family planning
People are healthier when they can decide for themselves if and when to have children. Access to family planning enables you to make those decisions. If you want to have children, it is safest to delay your first pregnancy until your body is fully grown. Then, waiting 2 or more years between pregnancies lets your body regain strength and gives your baby time to finish breastfeeding. When you have the number of children you want, family planning lets you choose not to have more.
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Good care during pregnancy and birth
Everyone should get care during pregnancy and birth to make sure that they and their babies are healthy. If you are pregnant, get regular check-ups from a midwife or a trained health worker. They can check for problems during pregnancy or birth that do not show signs you can see or feel yourself, such as high blood pressure or the baby in the wrong position. Good prenatal care can prevent problems from becoming dangerous.
More Information
giving birthMore Information
squeezing exerciseFamily planning and good care during pregnancy and birth can prevent:
Fallen womb (prolapse). If someone has been pregnant often, had long labors, or pushed too early during labor, the muscles and ligaments that hold up the womb may have become weak. When this happens, the womb can fall part or all of the way into the vagina. This is called a prolapse.
Signs:
- leaking urine
- in severe cases, the cervix can be seen at the opening of the vagina
Prevention:
- Space children at least 2 years apart.
- During labor, push only when the cervix is fully open and there is a strong need to push. Never let anyone push down on your womb to get the baby out quickly.
Urine leaking from the vagina (fistula). If a baby’s head presses too long against the wall of the vagina during labor, the vaginal tissue may be injured. Urine or stool may leak out of the vagina.
Prevention:
- Wait to get pregnant until your body is fully grown.
- Get medical help if labor goes on too long.
- Space babies at least 2 years apart so that your muscles can get strong again in between pregnancies.
Examine your breasts every month, even after your menstrual bleeding has stopped forever.
Regular breast exams
If you have a disability that makes examining your breasts difficult, you can ask someone you trust to do it for you.
It is common to have some small lumps in your breasts. These lumps often change in size and shape during your menstrual cycle. They can become very tender just before your menstrual period. Although it is rare, a breast lump that does not go away can be a sign of breast cancer.
You can learn how to examine your breasts for lumps yourself. If you do this once a month, you will become familiar with how your breasts feel, and will be more likely to know when something is wrong.
How to examine your breasts
What to do if you find a lump
If the lump is smooth or rubbery, and moves under the skin when you push it with your fingers, do not worry about it. But if it is hard, has an uneven shape, and is painless, keep watching it—especially if the lump is in only one breast and does not move even when you push it. See a health worker if the lump is still there after your next menstrual period. This may be a sign of cancer. You should also get medical help if there is a discharge coming out of either nipple.