The recommendation was developed in ancient times, when not every woman could detect her own pregnancy without the help of a doctor, there were no condoms, and genital infections, on the contrary, were in abundance … Now girls are mostly literate. If something worries somewhere, they will find the way to the antenatal clinic. What if it doesn’t bother you? Did you know, by the way, that the Ministry of Health recommends a medical examination and, accordingly, a preventive examination by a gynecologist once every three years? What will they do with you there, do you need to go to the gynecologist more often than recommended by the Ministry of Health? Goodshapetips dealt with these issues in detail.
First time
Immediately after the first menstruation in her life (menarche), the girl should visit a gynecologist. We already wrote about it here.
The gynecologist will tell your daughter a lot of things that you yourself are embarrassed to talk about, or maybe you don’t know at all.
If treatment or contraception is prescribed after such a detailed examination, then you can really be sure that they are “individually selected.” In adolescence, the hormonal background changes dramatically, it must be periodically monitored by laboratory methods. Therefore, a visit to the gynecologist twice a year is fully justified.
18–35 years old
At this age, girls go to the gynecologist often and voluntarily: to prevent pregnancy or vice versa, to accelerate its onset. Every year, they are prescribed an ultrasound of the pelvic organs in order to assess structural changes in the genital organs, track ovulation, notice the development of endometriosis, fibroids in time, and detect cysts in the ovaries.
If a girl lives an active and non-monogamous sexual life, then it is advisable to take smears during examination for bacteriological examination of the vaginal microflora (sowing). You can add PCR diagnostics for STIs.
But the main goal of examinations (even if nothing bothers you and you are generally childfree) is the prevention of cervical cancer.
Therefore, the mandatory list of procedures includes extended colposcopy (examination of the cervix under a microscope) and oncocytology. Upon receipt of normal results in the future, a cytological examination is carried out once every three years.
33–45 years old
During this period, a woman, as a rule, lives a “calm” family life, so she can go to the gynecologist every three years for colposcopy and oncocytological examination of the cervix.
If you are still planning a pregnancy (sometime in the future), then an annual ultrasound of the pelvic organs is justified – to assess the condition of the uterus and ovaries, the follicular reserve.
A gynecologist also usually gives a referral for an ultrasound of the mammary glands or mammography according to compulsory medical insurance. Visits to a mammologist is a topic for a separate article.
After 45 years
This is the period of premenopause and menopause. Perhaps for some time you will have to go to the gynecologist as often as in your youth: hormonal changes are a difficult stage in a woman’s life.
That’s why at the age of 45+ you need to make friends with the gynecologist again. You can find the nearest specialist center to you on the Internet.
At the age of about 40 years, there is often a question not only about the regulation of the cycle, but also about reliable contraception. For some reason, many still believe that hormonal contraception is safe only up to 35 years. This is not true.
Nowadays, there are contraceptives not with synthetic ethinyl estradiol, but with “natural” estrogens, which not only have a contraceptive effect, but also partly the effects of hormone replacement therapy, and also have less effect on the blood coagulation system, which is important for women with varicose veins and for those who smoke.
Even if nothing bothers you, for the next five to ten years (until menopause), the plan is something like this:
- Ultrasound of the pelvic organs – once a year.
- Mammography – once every one to two years.
- A smear for oncocytology – once every three to five years.
- Lipidogram (cholesterol and its fractions), hemostasiogram or coagulogram – for the selection of hormone therapy.
