160 Staying Healthy
safer sex, 189
pelvic infection, 274
➤ AIDS has become
a major cause of
death among women.
Safer sex
Having unprotected sex, or sex with many partners,
makes a woman more at risk for getting an STI, including
HIV infection. HIV infection can lead to death from AIDS.
Untreated STIs can cause infertility, pregnancies in the tube, and
miscarriage. Having many partners also makes a woman more
at risk for developing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and
cancer. Women and men can help prevent all these problems
by practicing safer sex.
197
family planning
Family planning
A young woman should use family planning to delay her
first pregnancy until her body is fully grown. Then, after her
first baby is born, she should wait 2 or more years between
each pregnancy. This method, called child spacing, lets her
body get strong again between pregnancies, and her baby can
finish breastfeeding. When she has the number of children
she wants, she can choose not to have any more.
For healthy mothers and babies, it is better not to have:
babies too early,
babies too late,
too many babies, babies too close together.
Good care during pregnancy and birth
Many women do not seek care during their pregnancy
because they do not feel sick. But feeling well does not mean
there are no problems. Many of the problems of pregnancy
and birth, such as high blood pressure or the baby lying the
wrong way, usually do not have any signs. A woman should
try to get regular prenatal (before birth) checkups, so that
a midwife or health worker trained in giving care during
pregnancy can examine her body and see if her pregnancy is
going well. Good prenatal care can prevent problems from
becoming dangerous.
Where Women Have No Doctor 2012