There are numerous challenges facing public health today. One of the most important is the issue surrounding reproductive health. This medical issue has often been overlooked because of its nature; however, it has become a problem in numerous countries all over the world. Reproductive health issues come in many shapes and forms.
One of the primary issues involving reproductive health has been the issue of gender inequality. While men can easily purchase condoms at the grocery store, it can be much harder for women to have access to the same forms of birth control. Many of the female forms of birth control include IUDs, Nexplanon, daily birth control pills, and even the morning after pill. Many of these options cannot be obtained without a prescription from a doctor, which leads to the next major issue.
Many women do not have easy access to a doctor who provides birth control and reproductive health options. In many places, women need to see an OBGYN; however, there might not be an OBGYN who is able to see them. First, OBGYNs do a lot of surgical procedures, limiting their time in the office. Second, many OBGYNs might not take Medicaid or other forms of insurance that have been tailored to meet the needs of the underserved. Finally, it can be hard to find a doctor in rural parts of the country. This means that women end up driving hours to see a doctor. This is a major reproductive health problem that needs to be addressed.
One of the other major concerns in the area of reproductive health is the possibility of unsafe abortions. While abortion is a major political issue, it is a bigger one in the world of healthcare. In order to lower rates of maternal mortality, it is important to provide women with access to safe abortion procedures. When women do not have access to providers who can safely perform an abortion, such as an OBGYN, they end up trying to get an abortion in an unsafe manner. This leads to a rise in the number of complications including infections, hemorrhage, and even death. Therefore, it is critical to make sure that women have access to birth control to limit the number of unwanted pregnancies. Then, women should have access to safe abortion providers as well.
These are only a few of the many issues facing the area of reproductive health today. It will be interesting to see how the country and the rest of the world rise to meet these challenges. They are important for the health of not only women but people everywhere. Reproductive health deserves to have more attention than it is currently receiving.
