Your sexual and reproductive health changes throughout your life. At each stage it’s important to look after yourself and get help for any problems.
Please note that this page uses the terms ‘woman’ and ‘women’ to include people assigned female at birth (AFAB). It is not intended to exclude or dismiss you if you were AFAB and do not identify as female.
It’s common to have problems with your periods or the time between your periods. The cycle of periods is known as the menstrual cycle.
You may have heavy or irregular periods. Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) can also lead to a range of issues before your period, such as mood changes and headaches.
If your periods are having an impact on your daily life, see your GP for support and treatment. Your symptoms might be a sign of other health issues. They can also suggest lifestyle changes and treatments to help you. For example, certain types of contraception can help some people to regulate periods and relieve some symptoms.
If you’re sexually active, you’re more likely to get pregnant when you are ovulating (your ovaries release an egg), which is when you’re most fertile. Lots of things can affect how fertile you are, such as your health, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and your age.
Whether you’re looking to prevent pregnancy, planning to get pregnant or you’ve had a positive pregnancy test result, there’s lots of advice and support you can access.
If you have a cervix and you’re aged between 25 and 64, you’ll be invited to cervical screening tests (also known as smear tests). These are to check the health of your cervix, which is the opening to your womb from your vagina.
During your test a small sample of cells will be taken from your cervix. Your sample will be tested for certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) that can cause cell changes and may turn into cancer if they’re not treated. HPV can also cause genital warts.
HPV does not tend to cause symptoms so these tests are important.
You should get a letter or text when your next test is due, which you can book through your GP. If you do not have an invite, the NHS has details on how to book a cervical screening test.
Menopause is when your periods come to an end. You reach menopause when you have not had a period for a year. This often happens between the ages of 45 and 55, although it can happen before or after that.
It’s common to get a range of symptoms during menopause. These can include hot flushes, anxiety and trouble sleeping. It may also result in vaginal dryness, which can make having sex painful.
Before your body starts going into menopause, you can have symptoms, but still have periods. This is called perimenopause.
Your ovaries may still produce eggs during perimenopause and menopause. This means you still need to think about contraception.
Talk to your GP if your menopause symptoms are affecting your life. The good news is they can offer a range of treatments, such as hormone replacement therapies (HRT).
If you’re looking for support with your mental wellbeing check out Live Life Better Derbyshire.
- Read about sex and relationships.
- Find out about having sex for the first time.
- Read about sex in later life.