This year’s TV3 Marathon, which will take place tomorrow, celebrates its 32nd edition, dedicated for the first time to sexual and reproductive health (SSIR), with the aim of giving visibility and preventing these types of diseases and conditions.
SSIR is defined as a state of physical, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality and reproduction, which goes beyond the absence of disease and the ability to reproduce. Gala Montenegro, midwife at ASSIR Barcelona (Attention to sexual and reproductive health), emphasizes that “diseases are only a small part of sexual and reproductive health”, and explains some situations that are synonymous with enjoying a good health in this area: “Having access to information, decision-making power and the ability to access health resources are some examples”. In Catalonia, SSIR affects approximately 3 million people and has an estimated incidence of 210,905 new cases each year.
Among the diseases and other problems in the sexual and reproductive section, two characteristics stand out: the great impact they have on women at different life stages and the lack of knowledge, especially among young people. For this first reason, Dr. Yolanda Canet, head of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Parc Taulí hospital in Sabadell, believes that “it is very important to put on the table to talk about sexual and reproductive health because historically the diseases that affect women have been studied less and worse”.
Doctor Canet explains that, in SSIR, many of the problems that women suffer are inherent to age: “Menopause, menstruation or other complications in the reproductive age and pregnancy phase each appear at different stages”.
This is not the case with all pathologies. In the case of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), although this Marathon mainly focuses on prevention among young people, diseases such as chlamydia, genital herpes or HIV can manifest themselves at any age, although be less common in the elderly. In this regard, Gala Montenegro considers aspects such as sexual education, knowledge of contraceptive methods, the possibility of pregnancy interruptions or access to detection of these infections to be “important in the prevention of STIs” and their treatment.
Among the pathologies related to the reproductive system, there are cancers of the breast, cervix, vagina or prostate, better known to the general public. But we also find other diseases with less visibility, such as endometriosis, which occurs on the outside of the uterus and which, apart from severe pain, can also cause infertility. According to Dr. Canet, it stands out for its “complex approach” and the fact that “it takes years to diagnose it”.
Finally, the SSIR also includes areas such as reproductive medicine, which investigates both sterility (impossibility of fertilization) and infertility (inability to carry out pregnancy), and deals with all those diseases and problems that can occur during pregnancy, birth and postpartum and affect both mother and baby.
