Women's health

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For the women's lifestyle magazine, see Women's Health (magazine).

Women's health refers to health issues specific to human female anatomy. These often relate to structures such as female genitalia and breasts or to conditions caused by hormones specific to, or most notable in, females. Women's health issues include menstruation, child birth, menopause and breast cancer. They can also include medical situations in which women face problems not directly related to their biology, for example geneder-differentiated access to medical treatment.

Women's health is an issue which has been taken up by many feminists, especially where reproductive health is concerned. One example of this is the Cartwright Inquiry in New Zealand, in which research by two feminist journalists revealed that women with cervical abnormalities were not receiving treatment, as part of an experiment. The women were not told of the abnormalities and several later died. In many countries feminists have campaigned for the right to legal and safe abortion, arguing that it is a health rather than a moral issue. In countries where contraception is difficult to access, campaigns for readily available contraception are conducted on the same lines. Conversely, there have also been campaigns against potentially dangerous forms of contraception such as the IUD.

Some health and medical research advocates, particularly the Society for Women's Health Research in the United States, define women's health more broadly than issues specific to human female anatomy to include areas where biological sex differences between women and men exist. Research has demonstrated significant biological differences between the sexes in rates of susceptibility, symptoms and response to treatment in many major areas of health, including heart disease and some cancers.