The Importance of Annual Women’s Checkups in the Midst of a Pandemic By Dr. Elizabeth Hultgren, M.D., Ph.D.– Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sanford Health
A
nnual checkups are the best way for you to touch base with your healthcare provider and help stay healthy, and it’s important to keep up with them even during the pandemic. Plenty of people haven’t, and their health could suffer later. When COVID-19 hit, Americans scaled back routine visits in every area, from pediatrics to cancer screening to contraception. Mammograms and Pap smears were down more than 80% in April and continued to be down 25% in June from previous years. According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 41% of U.S. adults had avoided medical care due to COVID-19 concerns. Why should women have annual checkups? Annual checkups are a time for yearly screenings, discussing changes in personal and family medical history, as well as identifying risk factors you can change to improve your overall health and wellness. For women, these exams often include: • Screening for cancer (cervical, breast, colon, etc.) • Discussing family planning needs, including the use of contraception • Learning about signs and symptoms of menopause and how to manage them Several topics within the field of gynecology are often considered taboo and thus not regularly discussed. Many women may feel that the symptoms they are experiencing are “normal” or “just part of the aging process.” By keeping regular annual exams and discussions with your
54
SiouxFallsWoman.net | February/March 2021
