Women’s Health

By Katie Deem
Because of their reproductive capability, women use the healthcare system more often than do men. They need gynecological and breast exams as threats of cervical and breast cancers grow. They need prenatal medical care while carrying a child.

The Women’s Health Rights Coalition points out that “women face all kinds of obstacles to reproductive health care: money, time, distance, lack of childcare, language barriers, bureaucratic indifference, and misinformation.” Women’s health care is an issue because too many women have fallen victim to unawareness of their own body’s needs, and are also victimized by poverty, medical negligence, government apathy. A health care system designed almost exclusively for and by men in the past has moved women to create parallel systems designed solely for and by women.

According to the WHCWV web site, “Until the Women’s Health Center of West Virginia opened in 1976, a full range of reproductive services for women simply was not available in West Virginia.” The purpose of the center is to offer services, medicines, information and support for women.

The Center supports reproductive freedom and awareness. They are “committed to the provision and accessibility of high-quality abortion services for all women.” They inform women of the risks and consequences of abortion and allow women to explore many other options. They offer gynecological services to low-income women including birth control and information about family planning.

The web site states that WHCWV also offers breast and cervical cancer screenings for low-income, uninsured or underinsured women, “targeting those over 50.” The Center “helps women identify ways to pay for services.” Most of their services are free to eligible women. Medicaid is also accepted.

The Women’s Health Care Center of West Virginia is located in Charleston, and can be reached at 304-344-9834 or 800-642-8670. Their website is http://www.whcwva.com.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is regulated by the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health’s Office of Nutrition Services. It was established in 1972 after a “national survey… found anemia and inadequate growth [was] common among American children in low-income families.” In 1974, WIC became an optional program available throughout the United States.

WIC provides education on nutrition, health screenings, breastfeeding support, medical referrals, and vouchers for nutritious foods for pregnant women, infants, and children ages five and under.

WIC seeks to treat the ills caused by poverty. They acknowledge that poverty adversely affects women’s health and therefore affects their children’s health as well.

WIC in Wood County can be reached at 428-3688. The office is located on the second floor of the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department in Parkersburg, just across the street from the new parking garage. The address for the Health Department is 211 Sixth St., Parkersburg, WV, 26101-5113. Eligibility requirements can be found on www.wvdhhr.org/ons.