Women’s health – articles and advice
General women's health
Features on women’s health, from menstrual health to menopause and beyond. For detailed reference, see our Patient Information Leaflets on women’s health.
General women's health
Women face many health concerns beyond reproductive or hormonal issues. Learn about less common conditions and how to get advice and care when you need it.
- Fibroids videos
- Flax seeds: a secret weapon for women's health?
- Breaking down the gender health gap
- Pelvic pain: a woman's guide to common causes
- Spotting the signs of fibroids
- What's the link between hair relaxers and fibroids?
- Why do women feel the cold more than men?
- What is abnormal uterine bleeding and when should I worry?
- Video: Are fibroids cancerous?
- Women in gambling: the hidden addiction
- What's the recommended calorie intake for women?
- What does a women's health physiotherapist do?
- NHS opens walk-in clinics for FGM survivors
- Is women's pain taken seriously?
- Should vaginal mesh surgery be banned?
- What women need to know about autoimmune conditions
- What it’s like to have pelvic inflammatory disease
- Genitourinary prolapse treatment options
Breast health
Breast lumps, pain, or discharge can be worrying. Learn what’s normal, what needs checking, and how most breast changes are harmless.
In this topic:Breast health Breast cancer
- What's causing your breast pain?
- Is your bra harming your health?
- Why we need to talk about breast implant illness
- Do you check your breasts?
- Anatomy of the breast
Breast cancer
- How to check for breast cancer and what a lump feels like
- Breast cancer videos
- Clinical Pilates: a support to breast cancer recovery
- Early breast cancer care
- What to expect during a breast screening
- Why we all need to be 'breast aware'
- Swap beef for chicken to reduce breast cancer risk, suggests study
- Personalised blood test detects return of breast cancer
- What happens when you find out you’re BRCA positive?
- Being a 'morning person' lowers risk of breast cancer
- What it's like to be a breast surgeon with breast cancer
- How to cope with metastatic breast cancer
Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to endometrial tissue is found outside the uterus, in the pelvic area and lower tummy (abdomen) and, rarely, in other areas in the body.
- Endometriosis videos
- Could your period pain be endometriosis?
- 7 tips to help relieve endometriosis pain
- Real stories: How to manage endometriosis and your career
- Endometriosis: A new urine test could reduce diagnosis times by years
- Video: Can endometriosis occur whilst pregnant?
- Living with endometriosis - Keisha's story
- Can changing your diet ease endometriosis symptoms?
Menopause and HRT
Menopause marks the end of menstrual cycles. Learn about symptoms like hot flushes and mood changes, and how hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can help.
- What are the side effects of HRT?
- Menopause videos
- How your periods change during perimenopause
- Why can the menopause trigger anxiety?
- Are you going through the perimenopause?
- Do herbal remedies for menopause really work?
- What are the signs HRT is not working anymore?
- How to ease joint pain during the menopause
- HRT: fact-checking risks and benefits
- Do you need a menopause check at 40?
- What's the link between menopause and cholesterol?
- Your diet and the menopause
- What causes menopause dizziness, and how can you manage it?
- How to support someone during the menopause
- Video: How do you know you're going through the menopause?
- How does race affect menopause care?
- How menopause can affect women at work
- What HRT did for me
- Looking after your health during the menopause
- Living with HRT
- Will HRT for menopause soon be free over the counter?
- How to ease your perimenopause symptoms
- How can you prevent osteoporosis during the menopause?
- How to alleviate your menopause sleep problems
- What you need to know about testosterone and menopause
- Can blood tests help to manage menopause and HRT?
- New insight into breast cancer risk after stopping HRT
- What's behind the HRT shortage in the UK?
- New operation could delay menopause by 20 years
- Testosterone can boost sexual desire after menopause
- What it's like to go through the menopause when you have HIV
- Poor social life linked to bone loss in postmenopausal women
- What it's like to go through early menopause
- The problem with 'bioidentical hormones' for menopause
- Does the menopause cause hair loss?
- The truth about HRT
- What is postmenopausal depression?
- Should you be worried about postmenopausal bleeding?
- How long do the symptoms of menopause last?
PCOS
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) can affect hormones and fertility. Learn about symptoms and treatment options.
Periods and period problems
Heavy bleeding, painful cramps or irregular cycles? Learn what’s normal, when to seek help, and how period problems are diagnosed and treated.
- Periods and PMS videos
- Quiz: When will I get my first period?
- Could your PMS be PMDD?
- Can changing your diet improve PMS?
- Women's health in sport: injuries, menstruation, and motherhood
- Is adenomyosis the cause of your heavy, painful periods?
- How to manage your period in school
- How to deal with your period at a festival
- Video: What is the best way to get rid of period pain?
- First period - supporting your child when they start menstruation
- Period poverty: a public health crisis
- How to clean your menstrual cup
- Why are more young women losing their periods due to restrictive diets and excessive exercise?
- How to have a more eco-friendly period
- How to alter your language around menstruation to be more inclusive
- How to look after your mental health during your menstrual cycle
- Can menstrual cups help fight period poverty?
- Why you should be tracking your period
- How does your period impact your sleep?
- Should you exercise during period times?
- How to get rid of period cramps
- Menstrual cups as safe and effective as pads and tampons
- Painful periods cost women nine days of productivity every year
- Is it normal to experience ovulation pain?
- Are period blood clots normal?
- How to delay your period - is it safe to take norethisterone?
- How much period pain is normal?
- What causes heavy periods and abnormal vaginal bleeding?
- Is your PMS depression really PMDD?
- Should you buy a menstrual cup? Eco-friendly period products
- What a missed period could mean if you're not pregnant
- Is your period causing your migraines?
- Period blood loss chart
Vaginal and vulval health
Itching, dryness or pain can affect confidence. Learn about common vaginal and vulval health issues and when to speak to your doctor.
- What is vulvar dermatitis?
- Vaginal and vulvar videos
- Bacterial vaginosis videos
- Simple ways to help prevent vaginal thrush
- Understanding vaginal cysts
- Tampon tests - the latest way to check your vaginal health
- Vaginal ‘health gummies’ - Why the trend for improving our vaginas is harmful
- What do normal labia look like?
- Myths about the hymen debunked
- Should you clean your vagina?
- How to talk to your doctor about your vagina
- What to do about lumps on the vagina or vulva
- Is your lifestyle giving you thrush?
- How to manage lichen sclerosus and genital itching
- How life events and ageing can change your vagina
- What your vaginal discharge could be trying to tell you
- What your vaginal odour could mean
Women's sexual health
Women’s sexual health changes over time. Learn about conditions like vaginal dryness, pain during sex, and how to seek discreet help.
- What can cause a smelly vagina after sex?
- What can cause low libido in women?
- How to treat vaginismus
- Can women take Viagra?
- The health benefits of sex toys
- How to orgasm more easily during sex
- The female reproductive system
- Video: How does PID affect fertility?
- Understanding vulvodynia and why it causes painful sex
- The most likely causes of pain during sex