Female Sexual Health: Why Indian Women Must Know their Bodies Better

Female sex life and sexual health have for long been a hushed-up topic. It is high time that women embrace their bodies, their needs, and dysfunctionalities. Sexuality being a part of women's life needs attention and sexual health topics need to be delved into.

Why Female Sexual Health Is Important?

Female sexual health is a lot to do with the knowledge of one's understanding of their body. A proper grasp of the sexual health issues and the body demands can help women make informed choices in their sex life. With proper knowledge, women can make choices like whether they want to be pregnant or they should avoid it? Or is it okay to have sex while on menstruation? What are the chances of STIs or STDs? Whether it is fine to experience pain while having sex? Is it normal to bleed during sexual intercourse after menopause? We have so many questions. And so it's ideal to be aware of one's bodies and its needs.

SheThePeople talked to a few gynaecologists to know their insights. Dr. Sheetal Agarwal, Senior Consultant OBS & Gynaecologist at Apollo Spectra Hospital Delhi says, "Women are really very hesitant to come out to discuss their sexual problems." She attributes this to growing up. "I think it has been ingrained in them that sex is something which should not be discussed openly." But things are changing according to her in the urban sector, "Now females are coming up, maybe because of education or awareness. They have come to realise sex is as important as their normal food. Females are acknowledging that they need sexual satisfaction and fulfilment of their sexual desires," says Dr. Sheetal.

We forget that physical and emotional health are intrinsically linked. Dr Sheetal says one should not ignore sexual health problems. "Apart from serious repercussions, relationship and psychological problems start taking their grounds if sexual health problems are not dealt with."

Problems like vaginismus and anorgasmia lead to the drifting away of the partner. She says. "Naturally, the partner also has his urges and he has to satisfy it. Moreover, even the female starts developing psychological problems like depression."

Sexual Health Problems Women Face

According to the Sexual Advice Association, sexual problems affect around 1 in 3 young and middle-aged women and around 1 in 2 older women. Some of these problems can be - Loss of libido, orgasm problems, vaginismus, bacterial vaginosis infections, etc.

What Should Be Done If You Face Any Sexual Health-Related Problems

In case of any sexual-health problems, it is important that it is first of all acknowledged. It is a general tendency of a large number of people to neglect their problems and often the health-issues are taken lightly. Small pains and minute symptoms, that can be indicative of any underlying serious problem, are sidelined. So, it is advisable that one acknowledges their problem and then consult a doctor. In the digital age, we often look for solutions to our problems by surfing on Google baba, which can be helpful to some extent, maybe it can help in acknowledging the problem but in order to get a clearer spectacle on the issue without any haziness, it is necessary that one consults a specialist.

Dr. Ankesh R. Sahetya, obstetrician and gynaecologist, advises, "Be open about your sexual health. Reach out if you have problems- from the time you start your intercourse, from the time you lose your virginity as a young girl upto your married life, contraception, fertility, infertility, painful sex, vaginal cysts, it is very very important that a woman is aware of all these things and they can be taken care of and treated." He adds, "Acknowledgement of the problem is also important because it will help them to go to the right source, like going to the right gynaecologist or going to a family doctor who will refer her to a good gynaecologist. The gynaecologist will see her and will be able to diagnose and help her get rid of the problem which will ultimately help her enjoy a happy sexual life

Sanskriti Tiwari is an intern with SheThePeople.TV