KEY TAKEAWAYS:
• This year’s women’s health topics: The focus in 2025 was on empowering women through mental health support, preventive care and celebrating resilience in managing difficult health and life changes like chronic conditions, loss and cancer.
• What doctor’s wish you would ask them: Healthcare providers encourage women to ask about overlooked topics like postpartum wellness, supplements and therapies to help ease menstrual cycles.
• Personal health reflection: Celebrate health wins, acknowledge delays in your wellness journey and set actionable goals for 2026.
SUMMARY:
As the year ends, this article guides women through a meaningful year-end health reflection. It spotlights key advancements and trending topics in women’s health from 2025, offering simple and realistic health goal ideas for the year ahead, and providing a list of smart questions to ask your doctor in 2026.
The end of the year is a natural moment to pause and reflect on your health and wellness. Throughout 2025, OhioHealth committed to providing resources and having important conversations across many areas of women’s health. We explored everything from preventive care and mental wellness to managing chronic conditions and celebrating personal strength.
We’ve gathered the key topics that shaped this year’s conversations around women’s health. Drawing on insights from OhioHealth providers, we invite you to reflect on your wellness goals and explore the questions our doctors hope patients will ask more often in the year ahead.
Looking back: Important women’s health conversations in 2025
Empowering women to advocate for their health at every stage of life has been a cornerstone of our work in 2025. Every health journey is unique, and every voice matters. At OhioHealth, we’re committed to supporting you — not only in our care settings, but also through education and awareness that extend beyond our walls.
Mental health is an important facet of well-being and deeply connected to physical wellness.
This year, OhioHealth healthcare providers gave their expert input on:
- Mental load — the invisible stress of organizing responsibilities that women, especially mother’s, often face — and offered strategies on how to manage it.
- The impact of stress on both you’re your mental and physical help.
- How to support women experiencing a significant loss, like a misscarriage, or serious trauma, like sexual assault.
Women are resilient. Listening to their stories can inspire strength and help others who are through difficult times — from managing chronic conditions like multiple sclerosis (MS) to cancer survivors to those who have faced significant loss and are using it to fuel important community work. It’s important to focus on the wins, too. OhioHealth celebrated some of the women making a difference in the organization and the impact our programs, like Wellness On Wheels and the Mother’s Milk Bank have had on the community.
Preventive care remains a cornerstone of women’s health discussions. You should feel prepared and informed for even the most routine practices.
- What’s your mammogram going to be like?
- Should you get genetic testing before trying to have a child?
- When should you get bloodwork and what are the typical blood tests?
- What should you talk about with your OB-GYN?
Looking inward: Take a moment to reflect on your own health
These topics provide a framework for personal reflection on your health journey in 2025. This is an opportunity for gentle acknowledgment, rather than judgement.
Take a moment to consider the past twelve months:
- What health wins can you celebrate? Did you start a new fitness routine? Prioritize your sleep? Make an appointment you’d been putting off? No achievement is too small to recognize. Write down one health win from this year and celebrate it.
- What appointments, screenings or goals were delayed? Life happens, and it’s easy for our own needs to fall to the bottom of the list. Acknowledge these without criticism and simply make note of them.
- How did your physical and mental wellness change this year? Think about your energy levels, stress and overall sense of well-being. What patterns do you notice?
Now, write down one health intention for 2026. This isn’t meant to be a resolution with pressure. It’s a simple, actionable goal, like scheduling that delayed screening, trying a new healthy recipe or dedicating ten minutes each day toward self-care.
Health is a continuous journey, not a destination. OhioHealth is always hear as your partner in the pursuit of better. We’re committed to providing the support and information you need to make the right wellness choices for you.
Looking ahead: What doctors hope you’ll ask in 2026
As the new year begins, OhioHealth providers encourage women to bring thoughtful questions to their healthcare appointments — especially on topics that are frequently overlooked. Benjamin Winfree, MD, an OB-GYN at OhioHealth, and Kellie Rath, MD, both hope to have more open conversations about abnormal menstrual cycles, therapies for difficult menstrual cycles, and what changes women should expect as they age due to normal physiologic cycles. Dr. Rath wishes more women would ask about ways to manage menopause and perimenopause symptoms — “It’s not just hot flashes,” she stresses.
Eleanor Byrum, CNP, a family medicine nurse practitioner and lactation specialist, hopes patients will ask more about how to stay well, especially during the postpartum period. “I think a lot of times patients and providers are still waiting until things have [gotten challenging],” she explains, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” She emphasizes the value of building strong support systems for your family during times of transition.
Laurie Hommema, MD, is hoping more patients will ask their healthcare providers about supplements. “There are a lot of predatory and non-evidence-based practices that are touted as cure-alls, and they can cause harm,” Dr. Hommema says.
Providers also noted increasing concerns around mental health and the impact of social media on health information. Sometimes these are good starting points to have conversations with your healthcare provider about your own health goals and concerns. However, what works well for someone else may not be what’s right for your health.
Partnering in your health journey
Every woman deserves to feel comfortable and confident asking questions about physical and mental health — so care can be proactive, evidence-based and truly supportive. As you look ahead to the coming year, remember that your health deserves thoughtful attention and ongoing care. OhioHealth stands beside you as a trusted resource and partner. Together, we can support a healthier, stronger community.
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