Do I educate my son about women's wellness and health?

Much is been agreed and said about a woman’s role in the family. A woman is the core, the focus around which a household revolves. She holds the fort during thick and thin. She has many important duties to discharge in that role and for her to handle them on a sustained basis, it is essential that she remains healthy. It is the duty of everyone around her to ensure that she maintains her health. A woman’s health is not only her business but also of everyone else in her life, including men. A healthy woman makes a happy home.

Mostly out of ignorance and little to no knowledge, men end up ignoring ‘women troubles’ and pretend that they do not have anything to do with it. We have a responsibility to teach our boys about women's health, how important it is, and that they need to give precedence to it when they grow up to be adults.

Education starts young

Creating awareness about women’s health and the issues that girls and women go through has to start at a young age for boys. Ideally at the same age when we tell our girls about periods. Period talk should not be restricted to the girls alone.

Since boys don't have a specific day when you have to tell them about periods, it is good to start from sex education once they hit puberty. Biology is already something that is covered in the school curriculum, but that might not include sex education. While talking about sex, we can also touch on the ovulation process of a woman and the mechanics of how the body prepares for a baby, and how when the egg is not fertilized, the breakdown of the tissue leads to periods. Talking about periods to boys is a bit awkward, we know, but if we treat it as a mechanical process, much like how we would explain the digestive system or the way the heart beats and our blood circulates, it can be done naturally. The Internet can come to our rescue. Find videos and content that you can give your son for reading or reference. If you have a son and daughter, then involve both of them in this discussion. The idea is to take the awkwardness out of talking about periods. Encourage your son to ask questions about it, because that is the only way he can learn about women’s physiology and their health concerns. Most importantly, answer truthfully.

When we talk to our sons, we have to tell them that a period or menstruation by itself is not a cause for concern, because it is a normal biological process that all females go through. However, they should be made to understand that it is also a time when a woman can undergo a lot of pain, physical discomfort, etc. They should not treat premenstrual syndrome as a taboo subject, but a normal occurrence. When we tell boys about PMS, it should be in the context of what is happening within a woman’s body, what she is going through, and how she is dealing with it. It will make them appreciate it more when they are older and married.

PCO’s, infertility, dealing with puberty changes, taking care during periods or pregnancy, helping women understand their body changes and hormonal fluctuations, all these subjects should be discussed with boys. It is important for them to know all related problems and if possible some solutions to be able to connect and understand their woman better.

Here are some health tips that we would like to give boys and men for the women in their lives. One, don’t ignore any health issue that a woman is undergoing even if she doesn’t talk about it. Two, women need adequate rest, especially when they are menstruating or are pregnant. Ensure that they get that rest. Three, women love to be cosseted and pampered. Indulge that wish if you want a happy, healthy woman.