Women's Health

Women’s health is a broad category that includes health issues that are unique to women, such as menstruation and pregnancy, as well as conditions that affect both men and women, but that may affect women differently, such as heart disease and diabetes.

Understanding and improving women’s health is a central part of NICHD’s mission. Institute-led and -supported research focuses on a range of topics unique to women and females. These include gynecological health, such as menstruation; pregnancy and related topics, such as prenatal care; conditions that affect fertility, such as Primary Ovarian Insufficiency; reproductive health, such as birth control; and other conditions, such as Turner syndrome.

Because women’s health encompasses so many conditions and activities, we can’t cover all of them on this website. Instead, we offer information on some of the women’s health topics within the NICHD’s research portfolio. Each health topic includes resources for patients and families, and for providers and researchers. You may want to consult those web pages to locate more detailed information.

Visit any one of the following health topics to learn more about the institute's research efforts to related to women’s health.

NICHD Health Topics Related to Women’s Health

A healthcare provider and a patient reading a medical booklet together in an examining room.
Microscopic diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis showing the epithelial cell, the “clue cell,” covered with Gardnerella vaginalis bacteria.
A mother breastfeeding her baby.
Three condoms, with birth control pills and other forms of contraception in the background.
Pregnant woman testing her blood sugar level with a glucose monitor.
A healthcare provider consults a medical illustration of the female reproductive system on the provider’s computer screen.
Segment of a genomic barcode.
A technician performing an ultrasound on a pregnant woman’s belly.
Human T-cell.
A woman’s hand holding a pregnancy test stick.
A pregnant woman and her partner sit together on a floor mat in a labor and delivery class.
Pregnant woman in a hospital holding her stomach and looking down.
Woman consulting with her healthcare provider, who is showing her something he has written down in his exam notes.
A woman counting days on a monthly calendar on a tablet computer.
Healthcare provider speaking to a female patient in an exam room.
A woman sits on the steps of a deck outside a house with her knees drawn up close to her body. She rests her head in the palm of one hand as she stares into the distance.
A woman smiling and holding a coffee mug while looking out a window.
A pregnant woman undergoing an ultrasound.
Sensors attached to a pregnant patient's abdomen in a medical exam room.
A pregnant woman smiling and talking to a healthcare provider.
A couple sits together, holding hands and comforting each other.
A mother holds her baby in an upright position.
Microscopic slide of ruptured follicular cyst.
Mother measuring her child’s height with a pencil mark against a door frame.
Two parents holding their infant between them and smiling.
A healthcare provider sitting at a desk having a conversation with a patient.
A pair of white baby shoes setting on a hardwood floor.
Letter tile painted with a large red "X" on it.
Woman wearing glasses, having a conversation with a healthcare provider while seated in an exam space.
A woman talking with a healthcare provider.
A woman speaking with a healthcare provider in an exam setting. Both people are wearing masks.
Woman looking down and sitting next to a window.
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