Healthcare and Patient Safety

Healthcare and Women’s Health

Women and men share many similar health problems, but women also have their own health issues, which deserve special consideration. Women's lives have changed over the centuries. Historically, life was particularly difficult for most women. Aside from the numerous dangers and diseases, women became wives and mothers often when they were just emerging from their own childhood. Many women had a large number of pregnancies which may or may not have been wanted. In the past, childbirth itself was risky and not infrequently, led to the death of the mother. Most women in the past did not live long enough to be concerned about menopause or old age. In 1900, a woman's life span was about 50 years. Now, in the new millennium, average life expectancy for American women is 82 years of age, and it is continuing to rise.