Welcome To the Inaugural Issue

Stay inspired and informed as you journey along your wellness path with our curated insights and expert guidance.

Led by a dedicated woman physician, our concise updates cover topics ranging from sexual wellness and midlife health to primary care needs specific to women.

You can expect: 

• A featured article

• Hot topics & routine women’s health/wellness tips

• Soulful ‘Scripts 

• Let’s Get Clinical: Ask Dr. Johnson a question

• What’s new on the blog

Subscribe now and prioritize your well-being today!

5 Ways You Can Improve Your Sexual Health as a Woman

By: Akeira Johnson, MD

What Is Women’s Sexual Health?

According to Harvard Health: “Sexual health refers to a state of well-being that lets a woman fully participate in and enjoy sexual activity. A range of physical, psychological, interpersonal, and social factors influence a woman's sexual health.”

Let’s stop ignoring common intimacy complaints and begin having open discussions that guide women to and through sexual wellness.

Stop Ignoring Pain with Intercourse

Pain with vaginal intercourse can be distressing and complex.  Suffering in silence should not be the expectation.  Communication with any intimate partner(s) may provide you with well-needed support.  Your healthcare provider can evaluate and assist you in navigating treatment options.

Validate Any Struggles You Are Having with Low Libido

Decreased libido that is distressing to an individual is considered dysfunction. If you are not bothered by a lower sex drive in or outside of a relationship, do not feel pressured to assign pathology to it. If you're suffering from dysfunction in desire, know that it's not “just in your head”. Take time to find a healthcare team who can provide a multidisciplinary evaluation for your concerns.

Understand Your Orgasm Type 

~30% of women experience vaginal orgasms, while the remaining majority of women (70%) experience orgasm with some aspect of clitoral stimulation. Both are perfectly normal, and you do not have to assign abnormality to your orgasm based on how it is achieved! But a loss of orgasm or never having achieved an orgasm should be evaluated.  Consider starting with reading “She Comes First” by Ian Kerner and/or speaking with a sex therapist or educator. 

Understand The Impact of Vaginal Dryness on Sex

Vaginal dryness can affect women across health and age spans. Regardless of age, this is a treatable condition that should not be ignored if causing discomfort.  Achieving and sustaining adequate vaginal lubrication aids in comfortable penetration, thrusting, & possibly position changes during intercourse.  Chronic decrease in lubrication can lead to:

~ pain with intercourse→ decreased desire→ orgasmic dysfunction

(All of which should promptly be evaluated by a healthcare provider).

Consider Your Pelvic Health in Intimacy:

Healthy genital function is supported by a healthy pelvic floor.  So how do you know if you have any pelvic floor dysfunction? 

You may benefit from a pelvic floor physical therapy if you:

• Have difficulty with controlling your bowel and/or bladder

• Are experiencing a bulging sensation in your vagina or rectum with minimal pelvic pressure

• Recently postpartum or ever experienced the following: a vaginal delivery requiring forceps, > 1st-degree tear, an episiotomy and/or c-section

• Difficulty with vaginal penetration

• Seeking/considering physical healing support after sexual assault

Routine Women’s Health Tips 

Did you know that you no longer need a pap exam every year?

Not even every other year.  Most women will require cervical cancer screening every 3-5 years according to the most recent screening guidelines.

So, what else do you need to do (or pay attention to) in between your screening years?

Continue to be an advocate for your pelvic and genital health by: 

• Requesting STI screening

  • Discuss indications for screening

  • What screening may be included

  • What follow up communication you can expect

• Discussing Hormonal Changes

  This may show up as:

  • Vaginal dryness or decreased lubrication symptoms

  • Hot flashes and night sweats

  • Unwanted hair growth or loss

  • Difficulty with fertility

• Mentioning Pelvic Floor Concerns

  • Urine incontinence

  • Bowel incontinence

  • Bulging sensation in the genitals

  • Pain or discomfort with pelvic and/or core muscles

• General vaginal health 

  • Any changes in your baseline vaginal health should prompt an evaluation outside of your routine gynecologic care

Will something be missed if you do not have an annual speculum exam? 

The speculum itself is not “the test” for vaginal health.  Rather, it allows for visualization of the internal vaginal tissue and cervix. Therefore, if you are not due for a pap and do not have vaginal health concerns you do not need a speculum exam in between a pap. If you are requiring a speculum exam, make sure you leave your visit knowing exactly: 

• What has been ordered?

• When/how can you expect the result of communication? 

• Will there be any follow-up testing or exam required of those results?

Showing up in your clinical care as a partner with understanding and expectations can improve your confidence in receiving gender-specific care.

Soul-Full ‘Scripts 

Lifestyle prescriptions from Dr. Johnson

3 FREE self-care practices you can implement immediately:

1. Give yourself gratitude. I mean REALLY give yourself gratitude. In your active and passive thoughts, self-reflections, and perception of YOU! Be grateful that you get to be you and be 1 of 1 in this world. 

2. Hold yourself accountable. Be accountable for your emotions, your health, your thoughts, and your actions. Decide what is and what is no longer serving the best version of you.

3. Consider nurture as a part of your healing.  As a living being, some form of nurture has been essential to your survival.  As a part of a routine in caring for yourself, be sure to scan your body, mind, and spirit for areas that need a bit more nurturing attention. The nurture needed may be in the form of words, thoughts, prayers, nutrition, movement, or traditional or complementary medicine practices.  The key in this practice is: feeling, listening, and allowing.

Let’s Get Clinical: Ask Dr. Johnson a question:

Do I really need to see a doctor annually if there is nothing wrong with me?

Checking in with your healthcare provider is a chance to be proactive even if you do not have acute or overdue concerns to be addressed.   In my clinical experience, approaching routine health with a proactive identity creates a partnership with your care team.  

Your routine checkups can be seen as an investment into your overall wellness portfolio, so take advantage of the opportunities that these visits have in your wellness planning.

An annual checkup can be a good time to go over nutritional and physical investments in addition to emotional and behavioral practices. As you are discussing your individual wellness expectations, the path(s) you take to get there may be more comprehensive by keeping your healthcare team included. 

As a clinician, I am always interested in the functional health goals of my patients. By asking focused questions about how they prioritize their whole self, I am not only able to treat but engage in mutual decision-making of healing at multiple levels within their full lives. Ie what is a healthy lifestyle for them? How do they define health in performing daily activities? Is there a part of their health that has limited their life routine? How has their outlook on health impacted their emotional and interpersonal wellness?

The bottom line is, that I recommend you use a routine appointment with your provider to outline and implement strategies for your investment and functional health goals.

If you have enjoyed this content and looking for more, please visit us at: www.beyondthesthethoscopes.com for more informational content.