Women’s health & fitness guide

There are many different methods of contraception for women with all of them achieving the same goal, preventing the sperm from fertilizing the woman’s egg which would result in pregnancy. The main methods of contraception are:

• Sterilization.
• Barrier methods.
• Natural methods.
• Intra uterine contraceptive devices.

The barrier methods

Female condom

This is a very soft, thin pouch which is inserted into the vagina just before sex; they are made of polyurethane and are less likely to tear or rip than the male condom. They have an inner ring that should fit into the upper part of the vagina and an outer one which should remain visible; they are thought to be around 95% effective.

Women’s health & fitness guide

The exact cause of breast cancer isn’t fully understood and the risk of developing breast cancer increases with age with more than half of the cases diagnosed occurring in women over the age of 65. There are thought to be certain factors which do increase the risk of getting breast cancer and these are listed below:

• If you have suffered from certain types of non benign breast problems in the past.
• If you are taking hormone replacement therapy.If you are taking the contraceptive pill.
• Women who have never had children.
• Women who had children but didn’t breast feed them.Being overweight, particularly if you have been through menopause.
• Drinking a lot of alcohol over many years.

A very small number of people who develop breast cancer are thought to have inherited it through genes, though this is a very small percentage. However should the following relate to you and your family then you might wish to talk it over with your doctor.

Women’s health & fitness guide

Finding a lump or any change to the breast has to be the number one nightmare for all women, but the good news is that most changes to the breast and indeed most lumps are normal and they can happen for several different reasons. The most common reasons these changes occur are during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy and with normal ageing, the most common changes to the breast which are benign are:

• Cysts – these are sacs that are filled with fluid.
• General breast lumpiness.
• Fibroadenomas – these are firm round, painless lumps which are movable.
• Fat necrosis – which is damaged fat tissue.
• Intraductal papillomas – this is growth inside the ducts.
• Enlarged lymph nodes.
• Mastalgia – this is general breast pain.
• Mastitis – this is an infection of the breast.
• Nipple discharge.
• Thrombophlebitis – which are inflammation of the blood vessels.