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Louisiana Department of Health & Hospitals | Bruce Greenstein, Secretary

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Women's Health

Women and men have many of the same health problems, but they can affect women differently. For example, women may have different symptoms of heart disease. Some diseases or conditions are more common in women, such as osteoarthritis, obesity and depression. And some conditions, such as menopause and pregnancy, are unique to women.

Women sometimes neglect their own health and focus instead on their partner's and their children's. To live well, women should be aware of their own health and take steps to get fit and feel better.

DHH offers several programs and services that focus on women's health. Find a program for you >>

Take care of yourself first:

  • Plan for pregnancies and see your health care provider regularly while you are pregnant
  • Have regular mammograms
  • Get regular checkups and screenings. Regular health exams and tests can help find problems before they start. They also can help find problems early, when your chances for treatment and cure are better. By getting the right health services, screenings, and treatments, you are taking steps that help your chances for living a longer, healthier life. Your age, health and family history, lifestyle choices (e.g. what you eat, how active you are, whether you smoke) and other important factors impact what and how often you need services and screenings. Early detection is especially important for treating breast, cervical, uterine and ovarian cancer.
  • Talk to your doctor about whether you should be screened for HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases. These can have bad effects on women's reproductive health. 
  • Take good care of your skin and include skin health as part of regular screenings. 
  • Women face a challenge when deciding whether or not to breastfeed their newborn. Is this right for you and your baby? Read more>>
Women: Take Steps to Good Health

Be physically active and make healthy food choices. Learn how at www.healthfinder.gov/prevention.

Get to a healthy weight and stay there. Balance the calories you take in from food and drink with the calories you burn off by your activities.

Be tobacco free. For tips on how to quit, go to www.latobaccocontrol.com. To talk to someone about how to
quit, call the National Quitline: 1-800-QUITNOW (784-8669).

If you drink alcohol, have no more than one drink per day. A standard drink is one 12-ounce bottle of beer or wine cooler, one 5-ounce glass of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits.

Don't be afraid of weight lifting. A lot of women abstain from weight training exercises because of misconceptions associated with weight training programs. Read more>>