Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Sexual & Reproductive

(Jupiter Images)

How to Cope With 5
Common Sex Problems

Thanks, Hollywood, for making sex look so easy. The rest of us struggle with some not-so-sexy issues.

KIDS & SEX

Teens holding hands (Jupiter Images)

Teens and Sex: Where's the Love?

The risks of early sex include emotional harm as well as disease.

Join a Discussion

Health Community

Sexual Health Community

Sexually transmitted diseases, erectile dysfunction, contraception. It may not be easy to confide your concerns about sex even to close friends face to face. Here, you can be open without feeling exposed.

Erectile Dysfunction

Occasional failure to achieve an erection can occur for a variety of reasons—drinking too much alcohol, for example, or extreme fatigue—and is not considered unusual. But failure to achieve an erection more than 50 percent of the time usually indicates a problem that requires treatment.

Fibroids

Most women get fibroids during their reproductive years—and most never know it. A single fibroid might never cause a symptom, never pose a health risk, and create no problems with fertility. But the "tumors" can grow large enough to cause severe cramping and heavy bleeding and, in some cases, a hysterectomy.

Gestational Diabetes

As it grows, the placenta secretes hormones that make it harder for a woman's body to use insulin normally. She needs an increasingly large amount of insulin to maintain normal blood glucose levels. When Mom's pancreas can't keep up with the higher demand, the body falls behind in processing glucose, and gestational diabetes results.

Infertility

Sometimes the treatment for infertility is as simple as carefully timing sexual intercourse around the woman's fertile period; some couples have success with in vitro fertilization (IVF), in which the egg and sperm are united in the lab. A typical IVF cycle costs more than $10,000, and most patients pay for it themselves.

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Sexual Health Videos

Healthi Nation Video

Birth Control Methods

Learn about condoms, diaphragms, and other barrier methods of birth control.

Video (RLTV)

Changes to Your Sex Life

Advice on how to maintain an active and healthy relationship.

Healthi Nation Video

Erectile Dysfunction

What you can do about erectile dysfunction.

HealthiNation video

Learn About HPV

HPV, or human papilloma virus, is the most common cause of cervical cancer.

HealthiNation video

The Straight Talk on Herpes

If you learn how to alleviate the symptoms, having herpes does not mean the end of a satisfying sex life.

HealthiNation video

Prepping for Pregnancy

How to get your body and mind prepared for a safe and healthy pregnancy.

Video (RLTV)

Seniors and Sex

The effects of aging on an individual's sex drive.

Health Rankings

Heart surgeon Charles Fraser with Rachel Parrish, 9, at Texas Children's Hospital. He operated on Rachel in 1997, 1998, and 2001 to treat her for hypoplastic left heart syndrome. (Kevin Horan/Aurora for USN&WR)

Best Hospitals

The U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals rankings cover 170 hospitals in 16 adult specialties.

Best Health Plans

New England is home to many of the best health plans in the country. U.S. News and NCQA review 684 plans.

Symptom Search

American Hospital Association Symptom Finder

Discover possible causes of your symptoms.

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