For most women, seeing an OBGYN on a regular basis is critical to your long term wellness. That’s because this medical specialty is dedicated to women’s health. An OBGYN (which stands for obstetrician-gynecologist) will offer a wide range of reproductive and general wellness services.

In this way, regular visits to your OBGYN can help keep you healthy and thriving!

What Services Are Offered By Your OBGYN?

You don’t have to travel all the way to Iowa City to see an OBGYN. Appointments are available in large and small towns, from Coralville to Des Moines (that said–if you do live in Iowa City, then seeing an Iowa City OBGYN would be perfect).

The wide availability of OBGYNs is good, because you’re likely going to need an OBGYN at various points throughout your life (for many women, a visit to the OBGYN is an annual or semi-annual event).

Even if you intend to never have children, you’ll still need the routine wellness and reproductive care that an OBGYN can offer.

Some of the routine services offered by OBGYNs include:

• Women’s health services: From PAP smears to pelvic pain evaluations, your OBGYN is there to help make sure that your body stays healthy. These visits can cover everything from contraceptive needs to various cancer screenings, such as breast cancer or pelvic cancer screenings.

• General wellness visits: Most women will have the option of seeing their gynecologist on an annual basis for routine wellness visits. Your OBGYN will be able to perform typical blood work, such as cholesterol screenings, and be able to provide wellness advice. These visits are often called “woman wellness visits” because they’re calibrated specifically for women’s bodies. (These can be particularly convenient with an OBGYN located in Iowa City and a general practitioner located farther away.)

• Pregnancy care: Of course, in the event that you become pregnant, your OBGYN will be able to provide you with continuing support all the way through delivery (and including after care and recovery). Pregnancy care services can also include screening and genetic testing, midwifery, delivery services, and more.
• Presurgical care: There are several conditions for which your OBGYN may suggest surgery as a solution. In these cases, your OBGYN will provide pre and post-surgical care. Most such procedures are minimally invasive, and can be performed on an outpatient basis. You can even ask your surgeon to perform your surgery at the Iowa City Ambulatory Surgery Center.

Help With Aging

One of the big services that OBGYNs serve is also to help with the aging process. That’s because women experience a significant hormonal change as they age, called perimenopause (which then transitions into menopause). Your OBGYN will be able to provide you with treatment options designed to make perimenopause symptoms more manageable.

Of course, that isn’t the only arena in which your OBGYN will be able to help you with the challenge of aging. Your OBGYN will be able to:

• Recommend exercises designed to keep you fit and flexible as you age.
• Provide medications designed to keep you healthy
• Recommend changes to your diet and lifestyle as you age
• Help you treat discomfort that may appear due to your aging

Gynecology-Related Surgery

Your OBGYN can offer surgical solutions to some women’s health challenges that may develop. Some of the most common minimally-invasive procedures performed at Iowa City ASC include:

• • Gyn-hysteroscopy
  • Endometrial ablation
  • D & C
  • Suction D & C

• Tubal Ligation

You and your OBGYN will discuss whether or not you have a need for gynecological surgery options. These procedures are usually minimally invasive. So many patients in the Iowa City, Coralville, and surrounding areas opt to undergo these procedures on an outpatient basis. Of course, you can ask your doctor if your procedure can be scheduled at the Iowa City Ambulatory Surgery Center.

Finding an OBGYN these days may be just as easy as typing “OBGYN near me” into a search bar. But finding the right OBGYN for you can lead to improved outcomes and long term wellness.