Bhubaneswar: With the world celebrating International Women's Day today, many programmes and events are being held all around the globe focussing on issues like women harassment, female foeticide, rape and other social issues.
But, many important health issues surrounding women are hardly addressed.
On International Women's Day, odishatv.in met a few renowned doctors in the city to find out various health issues faced by the women in the state.
"Starting from adolescence many issues like menstrual hygiene, anaemia, bringing up children; and old age issues like menopause and other health ailments are very common. Proper care must be taken by women and they should not neglect their health by putting family first," informed Director of AIIMS, Bhubaneswar Dr. Gitanjali Batmanabane.
Similarly director of Regional Medical Research Centre, Bhubaneswar Dr. Sanghamitra Pati said, "Currently it is being observed that apart from malnutrition and maternal health, many lifestyle diseases are also affecting urban women. Mental health of women should also be given equal attention as women are exposed to stress in family and in workplace."
"Malnutrition is the number one cause of poor health among lower middle-class women in Odisha where they usually get the left-over food. Prevalence of anaemia among the school-going teenagers due to menstruation is another serious issue which can be taken care of by taking iron and folic acid tablets. In certain communities early marriage is also a big issue affecting the health of women," said Paediatric consultant Dr. Asutosh Mahapatra.
According to microbiologist Dr. Ashoka Mahapatra, "Urinary tract infection is the most common problem a woman experiences in her life. Apart from vaginal discharge, breast cancer, cervical cancer, reproductive tract infection and multiple pregnancies are also other common problems. Due to social stigma and shyness many women don't open up even in front of the doctors and that is why the infection becomes dangerous and also affects others."