21 Reasons to See a GYN Doctor Before Age 21

A Gynecology Specialists note: Following is an excellent article about young women and their first GYN appointment from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists that we’d like to share with you. Below are many reasons why young women should see a GYN doctor before age 21. If you have any questions, please call our GYN Clinic at (757) 312-8221.

Although most young women don’t need to have a Pap test until they are 21 years old, there are at least 21 reasons why you should see a gynecologist before age 21:

Health

1. Stay at a healthy body weight and feel good about your body.
2. Start good habits for healthy bones.
3. Learn if you have a urinary tract infection and get treatment if you do.
4. Get treatment for vaginal itching, discharge, or odor.

Periods

5. Learn if your periods are normal.
6. Get relief if your periods are painful.
7. Find out why your periods are too heavy.
8. Find out why your periods are too close or too far apart or why bleeding happens in between your periods.
9. Learn ways to deal with premenstrual syndrome (PMS) problems.

Sexuality and Relationships

10. Have safe and healthy relationships with a boyfriend.
11. Know when a relationship is threatening or harmful.
12. Talk about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender topics.
13. Think things through before you have sex for the first time.
14. Learn about safe sex.

Pregnancy

15. Get birth control so you can choose to become pregnant when the time is right for you.
16. Plan ahead for a safe and healthy pregnancy.
17. Get tested for pregnancy.
18. Know what your options are if you become pregnant.

Sexually Transmitted Infections

19. Protect yourself from sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV and take steps to lower your risk of becoming infected.
20. Get the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.
21. Get tested for STIs and HIV if you are sexually active.

Please contact our GYN Clinic at (757) 312-8221 if you have any questions about your health.