Women’s Healthcast

Back to Basics: Menstrual Cycle and Periods

Welcome to Back to Basics, a new series from the Women’s Healthcast answering some of the most common questions about sexual and reproductive health.

Guest experts Dr. Ryan Luellwitz and Dr. Paula Cody will bring us back to the basics of anatomy, gender, sexuality, the menstrual cycle, safe sex, sexually transmitted infections, birth control, bodily autonomy, and so much more.

In our second episode, Dr. Luellwitz and Dr. Cody answer some of our most common questions about periods and the menstrual cycle: what’s the average age when people might get their first period, why do we experience cramps, or acne, or emotional changes around our periods, and when to talk to a doctor if pain or heavy bleeding is disrupting your daily life.

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Back to Basics: Anatomy and Puberty

Welcome to Back to Basics, a new series from the Women’s Healthcast! Over the next several episodes, we will answer some of the most common questions about sexual and reproductive health and provide resources for parents and supportive adults who may want to start having these conversations with the kids in their lives.

Guest experts Dr. Ryan Luellwitz and Dr. Paula Cody will bring us back to the basics of anatomy, gender, sexuality, the menstrual cycle, safe sex, sexually transmitted infections, birth control, bodily autonomy, and so much more.

In this first episode, we tackle the basics of anatomy and puberty: Why is it so important to learn and use correct anatomical terms when we are learning about bodies, development and sexual/reproductive health? When should children learn anatomically correct terms for body parts, and what are those parts? What is puberty, and when does it typically happen? There’s a lot to cover in this conversation.

Resources shared by Dr. Cody and Dr. Luellwitz:

It’s Not the Stork – Robie Harris

What Makes a Baby – Cory Silverberg

Teaching Children with Downs Syndrome about Their Bodies, Boundaries, and Sexuality – Terri Couwenhoven

Healthychildren.org

Kidshealth.org

ACOG.org

Youngwomenshealth.org

Youngmenshealthsite.org

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Back to Basics in 2023

Starting in January 2023, the Women’s Healthcast will air a Back To Basics series with the aim of answering some of the most common questions about sexual and reproductive health and providing resources for parents and supportive adults who may want to start having these conversations with the kids in their lives. Guest experts Dr. Ryan Luellwitz and Dr. Paula Cody will bring us back to the basics of anatomy, gender, sexuality, the menstrual cycle, safe sex, sexually transmitted infections, birth control, bodily autonomy, and so much more.

Dr. Luellwitz is an obstetrician-gynecologist in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health Department of Ob-Gyn with a special interest in contraception management of all types.

Dr. Cody is a pediatrician in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health Department of Pediatrics. She works with adolescents and young adults with a special interest in eating disorders, sexuality and reproductive health, menstrual disorders and high-risk behaviors.

We hope you’ll join us as we get Back to Basics in the new year. Thanks for listening to the Women’s Healthcast, from the University of Wisconsin Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Surgical Sterilization

Since the spring of 2022, ob-gyn clinics around the U.S. have reported an increase in questions about tubal ligation, also known as surgical sterilization or salpingectomy. Dr. Laura Hanks joined the Women’s Healthcast to talk about why those requests are up, and tell us more about surgical sterilization: what happens during the procedure, why people might be interested in permanent birth control, and how she helps patients make sure sterilization is right for them.

Dr. Hanks is an obstetrician-gynecologist in the UW Department of Ob-Gyn.

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Robotic-Assisted Surgery

Dr. Laura Hanks joined the Women’s Healthcast to tell us more about how robotic surgery works, what kinds of procedures in the ob-gyn world can and can’t be performed with this method, and how to weigh the risks and benefits when deciding whether robotic-assisted surgery is right for you.

Dr. Hanks is an obstetrician-gynecologist in the UW Department of Ob-Gyn.

Vasectomy: Asked and Answered

Over the last few months, Google searches about vasectomy – the procedure for male sterilization – have skyrocketed. Dr. David Paolone joined the Women's Healthcast to tell us more about how vasectomy works. He discussed what preparation and recovery for vasectomy look like, cleared up some common vasectomy myths, and talked about how he counsels patients to make sure the procedure is the right choice for them.

Dr. Paolone is a board-certified urologist in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s Department of Urology.

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Privacy, Security, and Cycle Tracking Apps

Lots of questions about menstrual tracking or cycle tracking apps popped up after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to an abortion in June 2022. Questions like: are these apps secure? Could data tracked in these apps be used to criminalize people who seek abortion care? Should people be concerned about using cycle tracking apps?

Dr. Jenna Nobles joined the Women’s Healthcast to talk about why people may be interested in using cycle tracking apps, how they work, common concerns around data security and safety, and how to evaluate whether using a cycle tracking app is the right choice for you.

Dr. Nobles is a professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Demography and Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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Choosing Lubricants and Vaginal Moisturizers

Vaginal moisturizers, lubricants, and vaginal estrogen can be helpful tools for improving sexual wellbeing, but how many of us know how to choose the right ones? Dr. Jon Pennycuff joined the Women’s Healthcast to discuss why people use vaginal moisturizers and lubricants, the variety of available products, and what we should consider when choosing a moisturizer or lubricant. He also talked about vaginal estrogen as an option to address some issues like itching, dryness, and recurrent urinary tract infections.

Dr. Pennycuff is an assistant professor in the UW-Madison Department of Ob-Gyn’s Division of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery.

RESOURCES:

A Woman’s Touch Sexuality Resource Center: https://sexualityresources.com

Vulvovaginal Atrophy resources (UW-Madison Department of Family Medicine and Community Health): https://www.fammed.wisc.edu/vulvovaginal-atrophy/  

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The State of Abortion Rights in 2022

We’re releasing this episode on June 1, 2022, and sometime in the next few weeks, the United States Supreme Court will issue a decision in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Their decision in this case could have huge effects on abortion legality and abortion access across the country.

Dr. Jenny Higgins joined the Women's Healthcast to talk about today’s landscape of abortion access in Wisconsin, what the Supreme Court decision could mean for access in our state and beyond, and what the research tells us about how limitations to abortion can affect people’s health and wellbeing.

Dr. Higgins is the director of the UW Collaborative for Reproductive Equity and the UW Department of Ob-Gyn's Division of Reproductive and Population Health.

Resources mentioned by Dr. Higgins:

Abortion Finder: https://www.abortionfinder.org

Aid Access: https://aidaccess.org/en/

Center for Reproductive Rights: https://reproductiverights.org

Guttmacher Institute: https://www.guttmacher.org

If/When/How Legal Helpline: https://www.reprolegalhelpline.org

M+A Hotline: https://www.mahotline.org

National Network of Abortion Funds: https://abortionfunds.org

Plan C: https://www.plancpills.org

Planned Parenthood: https://www.plannedparenthood.org

Safe and Supported in the U.S.: https://abortionpillinfo.org

UW Collaborative for Reproductive Equity: https://core.wisc.edu

Follow the UW Collaborative for Reproductive Equity on social media!

https://twitter.com/WiscCORE

https://www.instagram.com/wisccore/

https://www.facebook.com/WiscCORE/

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Finding Out About Fibroids

Uterine fibroids are incredibly common – between 20 and 70 percent of people with uteruses will develop fibroids during their lifetimes. And while they’re often benign, they can still cause some troublesome symptoms.

Dr. Bala Bhagavath joined the Women’s Healthcast to talk about common symptoms of uterine fibroids, the broad variety of treatment options, and whether all fibroids need to be treated.

Dr. Bhagavath is the director of the UW Ob-Gyn Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility.

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