It's Your Time!

I hope all the mother's and soon-to-be moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day. Shouldn't Mother's Day be every day? Mothers have one of the hardest jobs in the world, if not the hardest. They also are caregivers and have a tendency to put their own needs behind those of others. One of these needs includes making their own health a priority. As one patient shares, "if a doctor told me my child needs blood work done, it would be done right away but for me, it would be done whenever I got around to it."

This week marks National Women's Health Week. The theme is "It's Your Time", encouraging women to make health a priority-now. The campaign empowers women to take steps to improve their physical and emotional health and reduce the risk of certain diseases. These steps include:

• getting in regular physical activity
• eating a nutritious diet
• lowering stress
• getting more sleep
• seeing a doctor regularly

All of the above are important self-care methods women with PCOS need to do for long-term health. If not well managed, PCOS can lead to a bunch of serious health issues including underactive thyroid, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes. By age 30, 30% of women with PCOS will develop type 2 diabetes and by age 60, 60% of women will develop it.

If you are having a difficult time putting yourself first or making your health more of a top priority, don't be afraid to ask for help. Call up a babysitter, friend or family member to watch your children while you go to the doctor. Seek professional help from a therapist if you have emotional struggles or to help with stress management. If you are having a hard time getting your eating on track, consider nutrition counseling. Also, The PCOS Workbook: Your Guide to Complete Physical and Emotional Health is a great support for any woman with PCOS. Buy now!

What steps have you taken to make your health more of a priority?