Happy New Year Cysters! We hope you have had a nice break over Christmas and a beautiful start to the New Year.
This month is Cervical Health Awareness month. So, ladies, do YOU know where your cervix is?
Surprisingly only 1 in 7 women know where their cervix is and women over 65 have the worst knowledge of female of anatomy. So how do we combat this?
Cysters believe the key is education! So, there are some facts about the Cervix.
• Cervix is Latin for the “neck of the womb.”
• As the Latin names suggests the Cervix is located at the top of vagina, connecting the neck of the womb to the vagina.
• Your cervix is around 2 inches long.
• The Cervix can squeeze… and stretch! It can hold a growing baby in the womb as well as stretch to as far as 10cms wide to allow the baby to come out for birth. Also, known as dilating.
• The cervix is essentially the door to the outside world during pregnancy!
• The cervix is also the “plug” to your body allowing you to menstruate regularly.
• The cervix is the first line of defence against sexually transmitted infections.
• No two women’s cervixes are the same, so we urge you to speak to your doctor if you feel something is wrong there.
• The cervix can and will change. During your cycle the cervix will change shape and move up and down, becoming soft or firm.
• 1 in 5000 women suffer with Rokitansky Syndrome. This is where a woman does not have a cervix or a womb. They may still have their ovaries, can may be able to have children if their eggs can be taken and fertilised and implanted in another woman (surrogacy)
• Cervical Cancer – can affect any women, but usually occurs between the ages of 30 – 45.
• Nearly all cervical cancers are caused to HPV, which is a common sexually transmitted infection. Most women will have HPV in their lifetime which will clear up by itself.
• A cervical screening (also known as a smear tests) can help prevent cervical cancer ultimately saving thousand of lives each year.
As Cysters are committed to reducing the social stigma attached with Women’s Gynaecological Health, we have started a weekly #CystersChat – Every Tuesday from 7 to 8pm via our Twitter page @cystersbham. We will be talking about gynaecological health this month and in particular Cervical health. Get involved in the conversation and be part of our Cysters Chat Community.
Remember, whatever gynaecological problem you are going through, you ARE beautiful and you are still a woman.
Neelam Heera
@NeelamHeera
