Women’s clinics are an integral part of women’s healthcare for those who can’t afford visits to a private physician. These clinics offer many services, ranging from educational materials to cancer screenings. Without free clinics, many women would suffer due to a lack of necessary healthcare.
Although all of the services offered in women’s clinics are vital to a woman’s health, not all clinics provide the same things. Therefore, it’s essential to know what services you need so you can focus your search only on the places that offer those services. If you’re hoping to find women’s clinics in Illinois but are unsure what to expect when you visit one, here is a list of the services you might be offered.
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Education
Women’s health clinics offer educational materials to women on multiple topics, including but not limited to:
- Reproduction
- Parenting
- Pregnancy and pregnancy prevention
- STDs
- Birth control
- Menopause
- Cancers specific to women
The education offered by a clinic is one of the best ways to prevent or address many health-related concerns. For example, understanding how pregnancy happens, how STDs are transmitted, and the signs and symptoms of certain cancers or menopause are great ways for a woman to take control of her health.
Pregnancy Testing
Pregnancy tests can be expensive, so you can choose to get tested for free at a women’s clinic. Also, suppose you’ve already tested for pregnancy at home and have gotten mixed results. In that case, a pregnancy test at a clinic can confirm pregnancy and alleviate the urge many women have to test and re-test multiple times at home.
OBGYN Services
Women’s clinics provide a wide range of obstetric and gynecological services to help a woman properly maintain her health. Although a good portion of the women utilizing a clinic’s services are seeking pregnancy-related care, women can also find care related to:
- Pelvic exams
- Breast exams
- Incontinence
- Infertility
- UTI testing
- Menopause
- Pap tests
- STD testing
- Cancer screenings
- Postpartum health
Mammograms
Women are encouraged to begin getting annual mammograms to check for lumps that could indicate breast cancer starting at forty. Checking daily for lumps in your breasts can help locate cancer early on, but a regular mammogram can help detect breast cancer in its earliest stages, often before it’s detectable by hand. If cancer is detected early, a woman has a much higher chance of fully recovering.
Gynecological Cancer Screenings and Testing
Women’s clinics also offer screenings and testing on other types of gynecological cancers. For example, Pap tests will examine the cervix for abnormal cells that could indicate cervical cancer. A Pap test also checks for HPV, a virus that can lead to cervical cancer. In addition, doctors in these clinics can provide information on the signs and symptoms of cancers that there is no screening for, such as uterine and ovarian cancers. Since gynecological cancers can be some of the hardest to detect early, knowing the signs and symptoms of each can help get a woman the proper care.
When attempting to find women’s clinics in Illinois, be sure to consider all of the services listed here. Then, determine the services that best suit your needs and choose your clinic based on your health concerns.
