Let's Talk about sex, Baby

Those words are easier said than done according to a staggering statistic that more than 60 percent of medical practitioners don’t ask their female patients about sexual health. Within the privacy of extended appointments at the First State Health & Wellness Integrative Health Center, we’ve recognized that women not only need, but want a place to vent, talk, and find answers to their most intimate concerns—not just physically but emotionally. Intimate health is a core component of your overall well-being and to find balance, optimal health and contentment…we need to go there!

I had a frank conversation with our own Dr. Joanne Kakaty- Monzo, Board-Certified Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology and renowned vaginal health expert specializing in peri- and post-menopausal issues and sexual dysfunction, in hopes of empowering you to initiate a conversation with a trusted practitioner and to receive the support you deserve:

Liz: Let’s start with the basics: How do you define menopause?

Liz: Why would a woman who hasn’t had her period in two years still be experiencing hot flashes?

Liz: I remember when Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) became undesirable. Can you remind us why? And what’s happened in the world of HRT since then?

Dr. Joanne Kakaty-Monzo, Director of Intimate Health Services at the First State Integrative Health Center, is a teaching attending for Main Line Health’s OB/GYN residency program and is on staff at all four Main Line Health Hospitals. She is the Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia and Atlanta campuses.