Betty’s Co: Is this Normal?

Is This Normal?

By Jillian Lopiano, MD, MPH, FACOG

Betty’s Co. is the next generation of integrative healthcare – providing gynecology, mental health, and wellness care for the period-havers up to pregnancyplanners. Women’s health is surrounded by stigmas and taboo topics, often preventing them from accessing the care they need. “Is This Normal?” is an ongoing Q&A series we host to give our “Betties” the space to ask the awkward questions, develop body literacy, and ultimately normalize women’s health.

Is my vulva “normal”?

We mentioned it once, but it bears repeating: Take! A! Look! At! Your! Vulva! Think about it: your vulva is one of the only body parts you have no idea what it looks like. So grab a mirror and take a look. And most often, what you see is going to be completely normal! Like other body parts, the size, shape, color, and general appearance of vulvas varies – and this is okay!

Getting to know your “normal” can help you alert health care providers of findings that may require more investigation.

But in relation to skin cancer, we need to make an important note about findings that can be cause for concern. Skin cancers can affect the vulva, so if you notice changes, such as patches of redness, skin thickening, itching, warts, or pigmented (dark) spots or moles, touch base with your doctor.

Is it normal to have pain with my period?

Your uterus is a muscle, and much like when you get a charley horse in your calf, the uterus contracts during menstruation and can cause pain. So, yes, while some period pain can be expected, period pain that disrupts your life is not normal and should not be ignored!

Pain or bleeding that falls outside a normal range can indicate a medical problem. Unfortunately, here’s the other problem: these issues are hard to diagnose and treat. Take endometriosis, for example. Endometriosis is a condition that can cause significant pain before and during periods but typically takes 10 years to diagnose! But even with a diagnosis, there’s still no cure for it. *facepalm* Why is this? Because women’s health is severely underrepresented in research. Approximately 1% of health care research is invested in female-specific conditions beyond oncology or cancer research.

Is it normal to have menstrual disturbances after the COVID vaccine?

The good news is that the COVID vaccine doesn’t seem to be meaningfully affecting the menstrual cycle in terms of delaying cycle onset after vaccination. On average, vaccinated women have less than a day delay in cycle timing, and any differences found were not statistically significant.

But this is a great example where women-specific issues were not considered or included in the original research. And not until women were later added did we finally get some answers.

Let’s break it down: when the COVID vaccine was introduced, researchers tracked both its safety and reporting of any side effects experienced. When side effects are reported for a new drug or vaccine, researchers look at everything (and I mean everything), even if it may seem irrelevant or not directly related to the drug or vaccine. Some women reported a delay in cycle timing after they got the COVID vaccine. Was this a side effect or coincidence? The COVID vaccine research is a great example of why we need to include womenspecific issues in the data to find out!

To learn more about Betty’s Co. visit bettysco.com or call (210) 572-4931. Follow us on Instagram @bettysco

Jillian Lopiano, MD, MPH, FACOG Betty’s Co. Medical Director