Women’s Guide to Preventive Care

What is women’s preventive care?

It’s important for women to take an active approach to health care, especially by the time they reach adulthood. This includes scheduling routine screenings and services. Preventive care includes immunizations, testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), other blood tests, screening for cancer, and more.

Taking a preventive approach to your health can help you to stay healthy and receive early treatment for medical problems should they arise. Catching a problem earlier can result in an easier, more effective treatment. It can also mean fewer costs in the long run. Regular preventive care can even help to identify your potential for disease before it happens.

Path to improved health

General health screenings

Every woman should have a well-woman visit at least once a year. A well-woman visit is an annual preventive care appointment. It allows your doctor to review your medical history, assess your risk for certain diseases, suggest immunizations, and discuss healthy lifestyle changes. They many also perform an exam, if needed. You may also discuss forms of birth control during this visit.

During your appointment your doctor will assess your risk for conditions like heart disease and will ask you about exercise, diet, smoking, and alcohol consumption.  Blood work to check your cholesterol levels may also be helpful.  If you are found to have higher risk of heart disease, early intervention could help prevent or delay this from occurring.

Breast health

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) recommends mammogram screenings every other year for women aged 50 to 74 years. Starting mammogram screenings earlier (for women aged 40 to 49 years) is a personal choice that you should discuss with your doctor.

Reproductive and sexual health

Beginning at the age of 21, women should get a cervical cancer screening test.  The type of test and frequency of the test depends on age and other risk factors.  A Pap smear, or a Pap test, is a medical test performed by a doctor. This is usually part of a pelvic exam during a well-woman visit. Transgendered males should also talk to their doctors about pelvic exams and Pap smears.

During a Pap smear, your doctor will collect cells from your cervix, which is at the bottom of your uterus. These cells are analyzed for anything unusual to detect cancer or even pre-cancerous cells.

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) does not recommend Pap smears for women under age 21. Women 21 to 29 years of age should have a Pap smear every 3 years. Women 30 to 65 years of age should have a Pap smear every 5 years with HPV testing, or every 3 years if screening with a Pap smear alone, or every 5 years if screening with HPV testing alone. By age 65, women who have had adequate screening and are not at high risk for cervical cancer do not need Pap smears. If you have had a total hysterectomy (surgical removal of uterus, ovaries, and cervix), you no longer need a reproductive cancer screening.

Depending on your age and risk of infection, your doctor should also perform STI tests during your well-woman exam. If you are age 25 or younger and sexually active, you should be screened by a doctor on a regular basis. Older women should be tested if they have symptoms or when they have new or multiple sexual partners.

Immunizations

Your yearly well-woman visit is also a good time to review immunization needs with your doctor. They can recommend and provide the vaccines you need.

Each year, the AAFP and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) collaborate to develop recommendations for the routine use of vaccines in children, adolescents, and adults in the United States.

The AAFP recommends vaccinations for adults who meet age requirements, lack documentation of prior vaccinations, or who have no evidence of past infection, including an annual flu and COVID-19 shot, a tetanus booster every 10 years, human papillomavirus vaccine (2 or 3 doses depending on age at initial vaccination), and more. Women aged 50 years and older should get the two shingles vaccines. Pregnant and women aged 60 years and older should receive an RSV vaccination.

Women also should be screening for diabetes starting at age 35 and then repeated every 3 years if you have no risk factors for diabetes. Screening may need to start earlier and be repeated more often if you have other risk factors for diabetes, such as:

• Having a first degree relative with diabetes
• Being overweight or having obesity
• Having high blood pressure, prediabetes, or a history of heart disease or gestational (pregnancy-related) diabetes

Screening for diabetes should be done if you are planning to become pregnant and you are overweight and have other risk factors such as high blood pressure.

Emotional health

Your doctor should also ask you questions about your emotional health. If you have feelings of hopelessness, have had changes in your sleep (sleeping too much or too little), changes in your appetite, or are not interested in things that used to interest you, talk to your doctor. Even if you just haven’t felt like yourself, talk with your doctor. And be honest. If you are having suicidal thoughts, call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline immediately.

Your doctor’s office is also a safe place to talk about domestic abuse. In fact, your doctor may ask you if you feel safe at home. If you feel trapped in an abusive relationship, tell your doctor.

When to see a doctor

You should see your doctor each year for a well-woman visit. Your doctor’s office should usually remind you when you are due for your next annual exam. It also can be helpful to plan it around the same time each year.

If you have had sex with a new partner, it’s important to speak with your doctor about additional STI testing.

Things to consider

You should see your doctor each year for a well-woman visit. Your doctor’s office should usually remind you when you are due for your next annual exam. It also can be helpful to plan it around the same time each year.

If you have had sex with a new partner, it’s important to speak with your doctor about additional STI testing.

Questions to ask your doctor

• Do you recommend that I have a Pap smear during my annual exam this year?
• Are my immunizations up to date?
• Do any of my prescriptions need to be renewed before my next annual exam?
• Do I need to consider any new drug interactions between old and new prescriptions?
• Is there anything I can do to prevent cervical cancer?
• Do I need to make any lifestyle changes to help prevent STIs?

Resources

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Women’s Health

National Institutes of Health, MedlinePlus: Women’s Health Checkup

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services: Office on Women’s Health