Blog Archive

November is National Bladder Health Awareness Month, a time to shed light on bladder conditions, including urinary incontinence, a problem that affects more than 25 million adults in the United States. While it may seem sensitive, you don’t have to suffer in silence. At Florida Woman Care of Jacksonville, Daniel...

Menopause begins after you haven’t had a period for at least 12 consecutive months. While you may think that menopause symptoms don’t begin until then, they can start years — or even a decade — earlier. Most women hit menopause at about age 51. However, those years before menopause —...

Fibroids are benign tumors that are composed of clumps of uterine muscle cells. They may grow inside your uterus or on the exterior, too. Up to 80% of women develop uterine fibroids at some point in their lives, although many may not know it. Fibroids can be as small as...

When you come to a woman’s wellness center, you may think the focus is on your reproductive system. But women’s wellness extends far beyond reproductive organs. To stay healthy for life, you need strong bones and muscles. Among women and men over 50 in 2017-2018, the age-adjusted prevalence of osteoporosis...

When you undergo a routine Pap smear as part of your annual well-woman exam, you never expect it to have abnormal (i.e., positive) results. Your doctor assures you that abnormal Paps aren’t a sign that you have cancer, but you need some follow-up tests. But those turned out to be...

Birth control lets you take control of your reproductive health by timing when and if you want to have a baby. However, no form of birth control is 100% protective against an unwanted pregnancy except for two: complete abstinence and sterilization. If you don’t want to be abstinent but also...

If you’re pregnant, your body is taxed every day as you grow and support a new life. At the end of this process, your body must undergo even more stress as you enter labor and eventually deliver your baby. You can start preparing for your delivery as soon as you...

No matter how you feel about your period, at some point, it’s going to end. Menopause marks the end of your menstruation and also the end of your ability to conceive a child naturally.  You officially reach menopause after you’ve gone without a period for 12 consecutive months. Menopause may...

You and your partner promised to be faithful to each other. As far as you know, you have been. So, the idea of getting tested for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) feels a little treacherous, as if you’re sneaking behind their back because you don’t trust your partner. But when it...

When you find out you’re pregnant, you’ve just discovered that months from now, life changes — and maybe even becomes unrecognizable. You’re carrying a new life in your body, and it’s time to prepare for your baby’s healthy development and arrival. Probably the first thing you want to do is...

When you’re pregnant, you do everything you can to ensure a happy, comfortable, and uneventful gestation period for you and your growing baby, including seeing your doctor regularly for prenatal exams. Nevertheless, you could find yourself going into labor unexpectedly early. A normal human pregnancy lasts about 280 days, which...

When you’re pregnant, your body is busy gestating your baby for their eventual birth. You can use your pregnancy to gestate ideas and plans, too, to make that birth as easy as possible. Just as you prepare your body in the prenatal period by taking folic acid and other vitamins...

Whether you’ve looked forward to pregnancy since you were a girl or you’ve just decided that you’re ready to start a biological family, it can come as a shock when you don’t conceive right away. Other women seem to get pregnant easily, but you’re not having the same kind of...

Most of the time, when you need a cesarean (i.e., C) section to deliver your baby, it’s because you can’t or shouldn’t deliver vaginally. However, some women elect to have a C-section even when it’s not medically necessary. They believe having a hard delivery date and skipping the labor pains...

In 1960, the release of the first birth control pill revolutionized women’s sexuality. Free from the fears of pregnancy, women were able to enjoy sex on their terms. But the pill and many other effective forms of birth control rely on hormones to change your ovulatory cycle or stop it...

Even if you consider yourself healthy, when you become pregnant you must undergo frequent medical exams. Not only do your OB/GYNs monitor your developing fetus’s health, they monitor your own health, too.  One of the most important parameters of maternal health is your blood pressure. Having normal blood pressure is always important,...

 Preeclampsia, a dangerous rise in blood pressure, is a complication of pregnancy that occurs after the 20th week of gestation or while giving birth. Without treatment, preeclampsia can cause: Eclampsia (i.e., seizures) Kidney failure Liver failure Brain damage Blood clots Stroke Maternal death Infant death Worldwide, preeclampsia is responsible for...

Pregnancy is exciting, but it can be overwhelming. Even with today’s medical advances, you still worry about whether your baby will be healthy, and whether your delivery will be “uneventful” (that’s a good thing!).  Prenatal care helps alleviate the stresses of pregnancy by ensuring that both you and your baby get...

Part of being a responsible sexual adult includes regular testing for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Nobody intends to get an STD — and you may take every possible step to prevent one — but if you have sex, you’re at risk. In fact, approximately 12 million new cases of STDs...

Menopause is the point in a woman’s reproductive cycle where her ovaries stop releasing eggs and she no longer menstruates. You’re not considered to be in menopause until you’ve had no periods for 12 consecutive months.  After you reach menopause, you spend the rest of your life in the postmenopausal...

Pregnancy is a time of great change. As your body adjusts to the needs of a growing child, you feel different, you look different, and your excitement and anxiety increase. This may change your normal routine, including the way you exercise. However, it’s important to stay active throughout your pregnancy, as...

When it comes to your period, it all comes down to hormones. If your periods are irregular, or you experience abnormal bleeding, you may have an imbalance in the ratio of hormones such as testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone. One of the most common hormonal imbalances that affect your period is...

If you’ve ever “contributed” to the $132 billion diet industry in the United States, you probably feel pretty cheated. No matter what miracle diet you try, no matter how much you shell out of your hard-earned cash, you end up weighing the same or more, over time. Obesity is an epidemic in...

Urinary incontinence (UI) can be an embarrassing consequence of perimenopause and menopause. Or, you may have developed incontinence during pregnancy or after childbirth. Nobody wants to wear adult diapers. Nor do you want to line your panties for life. But urinary incontinence can be extremely embarrassing and inconvenient. Depending on whether...

In 2021, there were 2.5 million new reports of chlamydia, syphilis, and gonorrhea in the United States. But that’s just part of the picture when it comes to sexually transmitted infections (STIs). In 2018, 26 million new STIs were reported, half of them among youth aged 15-24. If you’re sexually...

When you’re not ready to have a family or want to delay your next pregnancy, an intrauterine device (IUD) may be your best choice for contraception. Today’s IUDs are simple to insert and remove, can safely be left in place for years at a time, and allow you the option...

Menopause is the time in a woman’s reproductive cycle when she’s no longer fertile and has not had a period for at least 12 months. For many women, menopause lasts longer than their reproductive years did.  While many women value the freedom that menopause brings — such as sex without...

According to the March of Dimes, almost 32% of live births in the United States were delivered through cesarean section (C-section) in 2020. Vaginal birth is usually healthier for you and your baby, because your baby is exposed to beneficial bacteria in the birth canal, but sometimes a surgical C-section delivery is...

Urinary incontinence is a common consequence of childbirth and aging. At the root of most cases of stress incontinence (i.e., leaking urine when you laugh, cough, sneeze, jump, or move suddenly) are pelvic floor muscles that have lost their tone and strength.  At Florida Woman Care of Jacksonville, with two locations in...

Somewhere between 5-14% of women experience pain or discomfort when they have sexual intercourse. Of course, when something hurts, you tend to avoid it. Painful sex, therefore, doesn’t just have physical consequences: It has emotional consequences, too. You may feel disconnected from your body. Your libido may drop. Your relationship can suffer. ...

A miscarriage is a devastating experience. All of the hopes you had for your pregnancy, and for your baby, are gone. You may feel helpless. You may even feel guilty (although you shouldn’t). More than anything, you never want to go through the disappointment and grief of a miscarriage again. ...

You’ve mastered the art of crossing your legs at just the right moment: the moment before a cough, a sneeze, or a raucous laugh. Except sometimes you don’t cross hard enough. Or soon enough. And then you feel it. Maybe it’s just a few drops. Maybe more. But you’ve leaked...

The implant. The shot. The pill. Today’s hormonally based birth control options make contraception easy and nearly fail-safe. With effectiveness rates that hover around 91-99% against unwanted pregnancies, they’re an easy choice. But so-called “old-fashioned” barrier methods have many advantages, too. At Florida Woman Care of Jacksonville in Jacksonville, Florida,...

Each month, one of your ovaries releases a number of eggs. A single egg then matures and travels down your fallopian tubes, so that it can be (possibly) fertilized.  If the egg isn’t fertilized, it leaves your body and so, too, does your uterus’s endometrial lining, which had engorged itself...

Fibroids are benign muscular tumors that grow inside or outside of your uterus. Uterine fibroids are common among women of all races and ethnicities but are most likely to afflict African-American women. Fibroids usually appear after you’re 30 and may shrink or disappear once you go through menopause.  At Florida...

Every year, about 1.3 million women in the United States hit menopause, and even more enter perimenopause. While you may have known about menopause since you had your first sex-ed class as a pre-teen, you might not have heard about perimenopause until recently.  We at Florida Woman Care of Jacksonville...

In the heat of the moment, you can’t imagine anything other than pleasure and joy coming from a sexual act. But even if you’ve taken precautions, such as using a condom, each time you have intimate contact with another person, you could contract a sexually transmitted disease (STD).  At Florida...

Your women friends — and women’s magazines — complain a lot about the miseries of menstruation: the cramps, the fatigue, the bloating, the inconvenience. But you notice that your friends don’t rush to the bathroom when they’re menstruating as often as you do when it’s your “time of the month.”...

Some variety of urinary incontinence is a fact of life for many women, particularly once they pass menopause. Symptoms of urinary incontinence include: Chronic urge to urinate Urine leaks during laughter, sneezing, coughing, or jumping Waking up at night to urinate Not making it to the bathroom in time More...

Fibroids are benign tumors made up of uterine muscle tissue. Fibroids that grow in the muscular wall of your uterus and don’t bulge inward or outward are called intramural (i.e., inside the wall) fibroids. Submucosal fibroids are those that bulge into the cavity of your uterus, while subserosal fibroids bulge...

Nobody ever wants to get a sexually transmitted disease (STD), but if you’re sexually active, you’re always at risk. Even if you use protection. That’s why gynecological check-ups — including STD tests — are an essential part of women’s health.  At Florida Woman Care of Jacksonville in Jacksonville, Florida, our...

Trying to pick the right form of birth control can sometimes feel a little overwhelming. Knowing what your needs are today, and having an idea of what they may be in the future, can help you narrow your options.  At Florida Woman Care of Jacksonville in Jacksonville, Florida, our knowledgeable...

Pregnancy is natural, but it’s not always smooth, either for you or your baby. Your developing fetus needs extra nutrients to thrive and you need support, too, to stay as healthy and comfortable as possible throughout the gestation period.  Our caring and experienced OB/GYNs — Daniel McDyer, MD, FACOG, and...

More than three-quarters of the 25 million adults in the United States who suffer from urinary incontinence are women. Although the risk for urinary incontinence increases with age, one in four women over age 18 have some form of urinary incontinence. Whether you leak small amounts of urine while sneezing...

If you think back to adolescence — when your body was flooded with estrogen, progesterone, and other hormones — you probably remember a whole slew of unwanted symptoms, including acne and mood swings. Now that you’re in (or approaching) menopause, you may find that you’re once again at the mercy...

Medical conditions rarely arise all at once. Most conditions develop slowly over time, so that you don’t even notice the changes. After symptoms appear, your condition or disease is already in a later stage that may complicate treatment. Annual exams are an important part of your self-care routine. Just as...

While women’s periods may vary between individuals — or even over time — keeping track of how long you bleed and how heavy your bleeding is can help you keep on top of your reproductive health. Heavy or abnormal bleeding is almost always a sign that something is off-kilter, either...

In the United States, more than three-quarters of women who give birth initiate prenatal care in the first trimester of their pregnancy, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Only 4.6% begin in the third trimester, and just 1.6% aren’t able to or opt not to receive prenatal care...

Effective birth control allows you and your partner to take charge of your fertility and plan the family that you both desire. Although you can choose from many effective contraceptive methods, the fact that there are so many can sometimes be confusing.  Do you want something permanent, semi-permanent, or at-will?...

You feel tired all the time. You snap at your kids or co-workers. You don’t want to have sex anymore. Are you under too much stress? Or are you in perimenopause? At Florida Woman Care of Jacksonville — with two offices in Jacksonville, Florida — our OB/GYNs Daniel McDyer, MD,...

If you’ve noticed sores in your vaginal or vulvar area, or changes in your vaginal discharge, you might be tempted to dismiss them as being related to chafing or a simple yeast infection. But if you’re sexually active, or have been in the last several years, a new symptom could...

You’ve heard that an annual well woman exam is important for maintaining the health of your reproductive organs throughout your life cycle. But, a well woman exam can be so much more than that. When you establish a relationship with your OB/GYN, you then have a trusted professional you can...

When you were younger, you heard your relatives complain about their “women problems,” and now you know why. Your periods seem to last longer every year, and you quickly soak through your pads and tampons. Heavy periods, though, aren’t normal, so you shouldn’t ignore or try to put up with...

You’ve been following all of the advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Governor’s office: You wash your hands frequently for at least 20 seconds, maintain social distance when outside, and always wear a mask in public. But you’ve been having heavy periods, or you’re...

Each month, your body prepares for pregnancy by building a nourishing, blood-rich lining inside your uterus. If you don’t become pregnant, the levels of your “female” hormones — estrogen and progesterone — plummet, which signals your body to shed the lining. This change in your hormonal balance can cause a...

When your pelvic area hurts, you may wonder what’s going on with your body, especially if you’re not menstruating and you don’t think that you’re pregnant. Pelvic pain can be an indication that something’s seriously awry. Both men and women, for instance, might experience sharp, excruciating pain in their lower...

You actually looked forward to menopause. After all, who wouldn’t trade in monthly cramps, tampons, and fears of unwanted pregnancy for freedom from pain and birth control? But menopause brought its own challenges; painful sex and a low libido are among them.   At Florida Woman Care of Jacksonville —...

Fibroids (aka leiomyoma or myoma) are benign growths that emerge in the wall of your uterus, inside your uterine cavity, or on the outer surface of your uterus. Fibroids are made of uterine muscle fiber cells and other cells, and range in size from microscopic to the size of a...

When the New Year rolls around, most women, men, and kids make a list of resolutions to achieve their personal and health-related goals. Just as you need help and specialized knowledge to achieve your career and personal goals, getting help with your health goals keeps you on track for the...

You already know that no two periods are the same. So if you’re struggling with long or heavy periods, you’re probably confused about what’s normal and what’s not. You might even be scared that something serious could be going on. At Florida Woman Care of Jacksonville, we understand the fear...

No one likes to talk about urinary incontinence, but it’s a real condition that affects more women than you realize — about 10% of women under 65 and about 35% of women over 65. Women often suffer in silence because they’re too embarrassed to tell anyone they’re having a problem...

Birth control is a uniquely personal choice, because every woman has her own needs, health concerns, and lifestyle factors to keep in mind. That’s why our team at Florida Woman Care of Jacksonville offers a wide range of prescription birth control methods, including: Pills Patches Vaginal rings Injections Implants One...

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as many as 20 million people are diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease (STD) every year. Despite the alarming number of cases, many people don’t get tested. Not getting tested or treated for an STD puts your health at risk. ...

Congratulations, you’ve decided the time is right to become a mom. To get your body ready for conception, the experts at Florida Woman Care of Jacksonville offer the following 10 tips to help prepare your body for pregnancy. Following these lifestyle steps will help minimize risks and help you enjoy...

Urinary incontinence is the loss of bladder control. Though it may be embarrassing to bring up in conversation with your doctor, it’s quite common. The reasons you may experience urinary incontinence can vary in severity, but it’s absolutely something you should discuss with your doctor.  Urinary incontinence tends to occur...

When you’re pregnant, your body is going through a lot of changes and hormonal swings. There are plenty of normal, everyday symptoms and side effects that many women experience during pregnancy. But when it comes to running a fever, you should always be vigilant about getting the right medical attention....

More than likely you or members of your family see a primary care physician at least once per year. Additionally, you probably fit in a checkup with your dentist and maybe even a dermatologist or optometrist appointment. Which is why, for women, annual OBGYN exams are very important to prioritize....