The women’s healthcare landscape is evolving. Gaps in research, bias in treatment and a lack of inclusive care models have historically created mistrust between women and their care providers. Many conditions unique to women have been overlooked, while others, like menopause and maternal mental health, were dismissed as inevitable struggles.
But today, the landscape is transforming thanks to systematic, behavioral and educational changes in women’s healthcare. From maternal mortality solutions to menopause awareness initiatives and LGBTQ+ health inclusivity, healthcare is shifting to better meet the needs of all women.
Delve into the industry’s progress, the persistent challenges and how OhioHealth’s new women’s center is redefining equity in women’s health, as highlighted by four distinguished experts.
Opportunities and evolutions in women’s healthcare
In the past, women’s care has focused on maternity, with research and resources largely centered around pregnancy, childbirth and contraception. While these remain critical areas of care, many experts agree that women’s healthcare needs to extend far beyond reproductive concerns.
“Historically, women’s healthcare has focused on pregnancy and maternity care,” says Kristina Stuecher, Vice President of the OhioHealth Women’s Center. “But now we’re looking at the entire lifespan — adolescence, midlife, menopause and beyond.”
Some of this change has been driven by increased awareness, advocacy and patient demand. Social media and online communities have allowed women to share their experiences with each other, seek advice and push for change. “There’s been a lot more talk about women’s health,” says Pragna Patel, MD, OB-GYN, a certified menopause practitioner at OhioHealth’s Menopause Clinic. “Women are realizing they don’t need to suffer in silence — there are options.”
Despite this progress, significant gaps remain, particularly in clinical trials, postpartum care, menopause education and LGBTQ+ inclusivity. Many doctors still lack training in these areas, leaving women to navigate their own health concerns with little support.
“Medical research has historically excluded women. That’s why we’re still uncovering how medications and diseases affect us differently,” says Lucy Bucher, DO, OB-GYN, Associate Vice President of Clinical Affairs at OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital. “For example, heart disease is the number one killer of women, yet it’s still underdiagnosed because symptoms present differently than in men.”
Jessica Tucker, DO, NABBLM-C, a women’s health and lactation medicine specialist at the OhioHealth Fourth Trimester Clinic, highlights the lack of physician education in certain key areas: “Physicians do not get lactation training in medical school. Residents do not get lactation training in residency. That’s a big deal. We have a behavior that has evolved over thousands of years — lactation — but we’re not teaching evidence-based, science-centered lactation knowledge to medical trainees.”
To bridge these gaps, healthcare providers and systems must prioritize listening to women, actively involving them in discussions about their care, and integrating their feedback into medical education and practice.
Expanding access to specialized care and building trusting relationships with women so they don’t fall out of the healthcare system during key transition points — after childbirth, during perimenopause, as women age — is key to continuity and quality of women’s healthcare.
Addressing maternity barriers and fourth trimester care
Maternal mortality rates in the U.S. remain high compared to other high-income countries, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and a report from the Commonwealth Fund, with Black women facing significantly higher risks. Dr. Tucker emphasizes the need for continuity of care to help address these disparities. For example, Black women are more likely to have hypertensive disorders. That’s why OhioHealth is working on continuity of care, including at-home blood pressure monitoring.
“Having a holistic awareness of the modifiable and nonmodifiable risk factors each patient brings to the table is important — whether that’s obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, genetic conditions,” says Dr. Tucker. “It’s important for healthcare providers to identify these factors and engage the patient in ways to decrease their risk.”
One of the most overlooked aspects of maternal care has been the fourth trimester, or postpartum period. Many women receive minimal follow-up care after childbirth, even though postpartum complications can arise weeks or months later.
Dr. Tucker emphasizes the need for women to receive support during the fourth trimester, not just for physical recovery, but also for mental health. “We know the postpartum period is a very vulnerable time. A lot of change happens to people all at once. Mental health plays a huge role in postpartum recovery, impacting everything from pain perception to milk supply to relationships.” says Dr. Tucker.
In recent years, increased awareness of postpartum depression and anxiety has led to better screening and treatment options, but access to care remains a challenge. Mental health support is still underfunded, particularly for mothers in rural and underserved areas. Dr. Tucker reports that telehealth capabilities have significantly improved care accessibility for families in rural areas. While physical exams remain important, much can be effectively accomplished through virtual consultations.
“There can be insurmountable barriers to get to appointments, whether it’s transportation, childcare, work,” says Dr. Tucker. “It’s important for us to make sure that as we’re caring for these families longitudinally, that we’re thinking about access barriers and providing ways for them to continue care in a way that is accessible to them.”
Breaking the silence around menopause
“One of the biggest gaps in women’s health is perimenopause and menopause care,” says Dr. Patel. “Women are left to figure it out on their own because, for decades, doctors weren’t trained to discuss it.”
Menopause has often been treated as a silent struggle, with women left to navigate symptoms like hot flashes, mood swings and sleep disturbances without adequate medical support. Many women were told their symptoms were just a part of aging and that they should “tough it out.”
Dr. Patel explains how this is changing: “Doctors used to think of menopause care only in terms of symptom relief. Now we know hormone therapy has long-term benefits for heart and bone health. Hormone therapy can be life-changing for women experiencing immense change due to menopause.”
One of the biggest challenges in menopause care is the lack of physician training in managing symptoms effectively. But menopause care is growing and the demand for it from patients is there. More providers are training in this space, and the Menopause Society, which provides the certification program for providers, has had tremendous growth in their membership in the last few years.
Creating inclusive spaces
LGBTQ+ women face unique healthcare challenges, from discrimination in medical settings to limited access to the care they need. Many avoid seeking medical treatment due to past negative experiences.
“LGBTQ+ women face higher barriers to healthcare. Many avoid doctors due to past trauma, lack of insurance or fear of discrimination. Many have been dismissed or treated poorly by the healthcare system, leading them to delay or avoid preventive care,” reports Dr. Bucher.
Creating safe and welcoming healthcare spaces starts with inclusive language and policies. Dr. Bucher recommends making small but impactful changes to healthcare spaces, like using inclusive intake forms that recognize diverse gender identities and cultivating safe spaces where LGBTQ+ patients feel respected from their first interactions with the staff and care providers.
These initiatives help ensure that healthcare is truly accessible to all women, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.
A center by women, for women
To address the gaps in women’s healthcare, OhioHealth is currently constructing a new OhioHealth Women’s Center — the first of its kind in the area. The center is designed to provide comprehensive, integrated care for all stages of women’s lives.
“The Women’s Center is a space designed for women, by women,” says Stuecher. “Everything — from our construction team to directly engaging with patients and community members in the planning process — has involved women’s voices and women leaders.”
Unlike traditional medical centers, the Women’s Center brings together multiple services under one roof, including primary care, OB-GYN services, mental health care, menopause specialists, an education center and more. “We’re intentionally co-locating services women commonly need to improve accessibility and coordination of care,” says Stuecher.
During the design process, OhioHealth prioritized addressing patient and care team feedback to ensure the Women’s Center would be a space that works for the needs of providers, patients and their families. They even rented out a warehouse, built model designs of the space and had users walk through to provide feedback before finalizing designs. All these steps were taken intentionally to ensure future patients at the Women’s Center feel seen, heard and like they matter — the ultimate goal of the center.
One of the unique features of the Women’s Center that Stuecher highlighted was the education center. “A major feature of the education center is our teaching kitchen, where women and their families can take classes and learn about nutrition tailored to their health needs. Let’s say if they’ve been diagnosed with gestational diabetes or want to learn how to make their own baby food.”
OhioHealth’s new Women’s Center, by design, is meant to fill gaps in women’s healthcare that have long existed and aims to make collaborative, integrated care more accessible to the community.
“Women make 80% of healthcare decisions for their families. If we engage women, we can improve the health of entire communities,” says Stuecher.
The future of women’s healthcare
As we move forward, our experts agree that there is still work to be done in the women’s health space:
- Expanding research in women’s health, particularly in areas like autoimmune diseases, heart disease and menopause
- Improving physician training in key areas like postpartum care, hormone therapy and LGBTQ+ health
- Continuing to build trust between women and the healthcare system by ensuring shared decision-making
Many women using their online and local communities to become more informed about their own health, which means that a lot of past stigmas about talking about women’s health issues are being broken. “Women are more informed now. They come in prepared to advocate for themselves, which is a huge shift from past generations,” says Dr. Bucher.
Dr. Patel agrees that “more women are speaking out, and that’s changing medicine.”
“More women are aware they need to advocate for themselves, but the burden shouldn’t be on patients alone, says Dr. Tucker. “Healthcare systems need to do better in listening and acting on women’s concerns, too.”
By listening to women, concentrating on their needs and investing in innovative care models, we are seeing a transformation in women’s healthcare that prioritizes equity, research and comprehensive care. The future is clear: women’s healthcare must continue evolving to meet the needs of all women — at every stage of life.
To learn more about the upcoming OhioHealth Women’s Center, click here. To hear a recent episode of The Wellness Conversation, an OhioHealth Podcast, on this topic, check it out here.
