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2. Disease Prevention in Women Slideshow Pictures
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Medical Author:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Medical Editor:

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.

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In this Article

• Introduction to Women's Health
• Women's General Health and Wellness
• Female Anatomy
• The Female Reproductive System
• Female Hormones
• Diseases More Common In Women
• Cancer In Women
• Women's Cosmetic Concerns
• Menstruation
• Sexuality
• Fertility, Birth Control and Infertility
• Pregnancy
• Motherhood
• Menopause
• The Mature Woman - Post Menopause
• Find a local Obstetrician-Gynecologist in your town
• Women's Health Index

Fertility is the ability to bear children. But most women wish to restrict when and by whom they conceive. In the U.S., 94% of women age 15-44 use some method of birth control in order to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

Ideally, the use of birth control is the responsibility of both sexual partners. The choice of a birth control method should be a joint decision as well. In reality, the ultimate responsibility for birth control more often than not rests with the woman. Her choices include oral contraceptives, spermicides, diaphragms, cervical caps, rhythm methods, contraceptive implants, and intrauterine devices (IUDs). In general, longer-term protection (for example, oral contraceptives, implants, or IUDs) not requiring last minute decision-making provides better protection (a 0.1-3% "failure rate") than methods (for example, condoms or spermicides) used just before intercourse (5%-15% "failure rate").

Every woman who wishes to use birth control needs to decide which method is best suited for her. She must also determine which methods offer her the most protection against sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection and AIDS.

The opposite of fertility is, of course, infertility or the inability to bear children. Infertility affects one in five couples in the U.S. Female infertility tends to become more of a problem as a woman gets older, especially after age 35. Irrespective of age, a woman and her partner need to be medically evaluated by an infertility specialist to determine the cause for the infertility and to correct the situation, if possible. The options available to infertile couples have been expanded and include the advanced reproductive technologies being offered by infertility programs, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), or donor eggs and/or sperm. Adoption, as always, is another solution to having children for many couples.