Editing Woman (section)

== Health ==
{{further|Women's health|Reproductive health}}

Factors that specifically affect the health of women in comparison with [[men's health|men]] are most evident in those related to [[reproductive health|reproduction]], but [[sex differences in medicine|sex differences]] have been identified from the molecular to the behavioral scale. Some of these differences are subtle and difficult to explain, partly due to the fact that it is difficult to separate the health effects of inherent biological factors from the effects of the surrounding environment they exist in. [[Sex chromosomes]] and hormones, as well as sex-specific lifestyles, metabolism, immune system function, and sensitivity to environmental factors are believed to contribute to sex differences in health at the levels of physiology, perception, and cognition. Women can have distinct responses to drugs and thresholds for diagnostic parameters.<ref>{{cite book |title=Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health: Does Sex Matter? |series=The National Academies Collection: Reports funded by National Institutes of Health |date=2001 |publisher=National Academies Press (US) |location=Washington, D.C. |pmid=25057540 |isbn=978-0-309-07281-6 |url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK222288/|author1=Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Understanding the Biology of Sex Gender Differences |last2=Wizemann |first2=T. M. |last3=Pardue |first3=M. L. }}</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2022|reason=Book has 288 pages, 6 chapters, and 4 appendices}}

Some diseases primarily affect or are exclusively found in women, such as [[lupus erythematosus|lupus]], [[breast cancer]], [[cervical cancer]], or [[ovarian cancer]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en/news/advancing-case-gender-based-medicine |title=Advancing the case for gender-based medicine |website=[[Horizon 2020]] |publisher=[[European Commission]] |date=30 October 2015 |access-date=29 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151109143057/https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en/news/advancing-case-gender-based-medicine |archive-date=9 November 2015 |url-status=deviated |language=en}}</ref> The medical practice dealing with female reproduction and reproductive organs is called [[gynaecology]] ("science of women").<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.lexico.com/definition/gynaecology |title=gynaecology  |website=[[Lexico]] |access-date=29 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218193620/https://www.lexico.com/definition/gynaecology |archive-date=18 February 2022 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Moscucci |first=Ornella |title=The science of woman: gynaecology and gender in England 1800 - 1929 |date=2005 |publisher=Cambridge Univ. Press |isbn=978-0-521-44795-9 |edition=1. paberpack ed., transf. to digital print |series=Cambridge history of medicine |location=Cambridge}}</ref>

=== Maternal mortality ===
{{Main|Maternal mortality}}

[[Maternal mortality]] or maternal death is defined by WHO as "the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.who.int/healthinfo/statistics/indmaternalmortality/en/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507115424/http://www.who.int/healthinfo/statistics/indmaternalmortality/en/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 May 2013 |title=Maternal mortality ratio (per 100 000 live births) |website=[[World Health Organization]] |access-date=19 April 2014}}</ref> In 2008, noting that each year more than 500,000 women die of complications of pregnancy and childbirth and at least seven million experience serious health problems while 50 million more have adverse health consequences after childbirth, the World Health Organization urged midwife training to strengthen maternal and newborn health services. To support the upgrading of midwifery skills the WHO established a midwife training program, Action for Safe Motherhood.<ref name="WHO2008Ed">{{cite book |title=Education material for teachers of midwifery : midwifery education modules |date=2008 |publisher=World Health Organization |isbn=978-600-7257-12-8 |hdl=10665/44145 |page=3 }}</ref>

In 2017, 94% of maternal deaths occur in low and lower middle-income countries. Approximately 86% of maternal deaths occur in [[sub-Saharan Africa]] and [[South Asia]], with sub-Saharan Africa accounting for around 66% and Southern Asia accounting for around 20%. The main causes of maternal mortality include [[pre-eclampsia]] and [[eclampsia]], [[unsafe abortion]], pregnancy complications from [[malaria]] and [[HIV/AIDS]], and severe bleeding and infections following childbirth.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/maternal-mortality |title=Maternal mortality |website=[[World Health Organization]] |date=19 September 2019 |access-date=29 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208192432/https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/maternal-mortality |archive-date=8 February 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> Most European countries, Australia, Japan, and Singapore are very safe in regard to childbirth.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2223rank.html |title=The World Factbook |publisher=Cia.gov |access-date=19 April 2014 |archive-date=18 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418113820/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2223rank.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{synthesis inline|date=July 2022|sure=yes|reason=Citation is to a list of statistics on maternal mortality rate. As a list of data, it does not make the claim it is being used to support.}}{{better source needed|date=July 2022|reason=Citation is to a list of statistics that is currently over 12 years old. See also the synthesis inline tag.}}

=== Life expectancy ===
{{Main|Life expectancy#Sex differences}}
[[File:LifeExpectancyBetweenFemaleAndMales.jpg|thumb|Pink: Countries where female life expectancy at birth is higher than males. Blue: A few countries in southern Africa where females have shorter lives due to [[AIDS]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://smart-unit-converter.com/life-expectancy.php|title=How long will I live? Estimate remaining life expectancy for all countries in the world|first=Laurent|last=PELE}}</ref>]]
The [[life expectancy]] for women is generally longer than men's.  This advantage begins from birth, with newborn girls more likely to survive the first year than boys.  Worldwide, women live six to eight years longer than men.<ref name="WHO2019">{{cite web |title=Female Life Expectancy |url=https://www.who.int/gho/women_and_health/mortality/situation_trends_life_expectancy/en/ |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725170324/https://www.who.int/gho/women_and_health/mortality/situation_trends_life_expectancy/en/ |archive-date=25 July 2019 |access-date=August 24, 2019 |website=[[World Health Organization]]}}</ref> However, this varies by place and situation.  For example, [[discrimination against women]] has lowered female life expectancy in some parts of Asia so that men there live longer than women.<ref name="WHO2019" />

The difference in life expectancy are believed to be partly due to biological advantages and partly due to gendered behavioral differences between men and women.<ref name="WHO2019" /><ref name="SciAm-2004">{{cite magazine |date=30 August 2004 |title=Why is life expectancy longer for women than it is for men? |url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-is-life-expectancy-lo |url-status=live |magazine=[[Scientific American]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415161346/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-is-life-expectancy-lo/ |archive-date=15 April 2021 |access-date=17 October 2009}}</ref> For example, women are less likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors like [[smoking]] and [[reckless driving]], and consequently have fewer [[Preventable causes of death|preventable premature deaths]] from such causes.<ref name="WHO2019" />

In some developed countries, the life expectancy is evening out.  This is believed to caused both by worse health behaviors among women, especially an increased rate of [[Women and smoking|smoking tobacco by women]], and improved health among men, such as less [[cardiovascular disease]].<ref name="WHO2019" /> The [[World Health Organization]] (WHO) writes that it is "important to note that the extra years of life for women are not always lived in good health."<ref name="WHO2019" />

=== Reproductive rights ===
{{Main|Reproductive rights}}
[[File:Sterilization states.jpg|thumb|A poster from a 1921 [[eugenics]] conference displays the U.S. states that had implemented sterilization legislation.|alt=Monochrome photo of a map titled "Eugenical Sterilization Legislation"; with notes on each state; refer to caption]]

[[Reproductive rights]] are [[legal right]]s and freedoms relating to [[human reproduction|reproduction]] and [[reproductive health]]. The [[International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics]] has stated that:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.figo.org/projects/reproductive_and_sexual_health |title=Resolution on Reproductive and Sexual Health &#124; International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics |publisher=Figo.org |access-date=2014-04-19 |archive-date=2014-02-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223203421/http://www.figo.org/projects/reproductive_and_sexual_health |url-status=dead }}</ref>

:... the human rights of women include their right to have control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality, including sexual and reproductive health, free of coercion, discrimination and violence. Equal relationships between women and men in matters of sexual relations and reproduction, including full respect for the integrity of the person, require mutual respect, consent and shared responsibility for sexual behavior and its consequences.

The World Health Organization reports that based on data from 2010 to 2014, 56 million induced abortions occurred worldwide each year (25% of all pregnancies). Of those, about 25 million were considered as [[Unsafe abortions|unsafe]]. The WHO reports that in developed regions about 30 women die for every 100,000 unsafe abortions and that number rises to 220 deaths per 100,000 unsafe abortions in developing regions and 520 deaths per 100,000 unsafe abortions in sub-Saharan Africa. The WHO ascribes these deaths to:
*restrictive laws
*poor availability of services
*high cost
*stigma
*conscientious objection of health-care providers 
*unnecessary requirements, such as mandatory waiting periods, mandatory counseling, provision of misleading information, third-party authorization, and medically unnecessary tests that delay care.<ref>{{cite web |title=Preventing unsafe abortion |url=https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/preventing-unsafe-abortion |website=World Health Organization |access-date=August 24, 2019}}</ref>