Women's care

Women's health center in Savannah, Georgia

Our women's health services provide the personalized care women need at every stage of their life. From childbirth to advanced gynecologic procedures, we are here to manage your long-term health needs.

The specialists at Memorial Health understand the type of care women need access to. This is why we offer comprehensive labor and delivery services, breast cancer screenings, breast cancer care and gynecologic surgical options.

Women's care services

Our women's services span across a variety of medical specialties to ensure women in the Savannah community have access to the healthcare they need. We offer:

• Breastfeeding support
• Breast imaging and mammograms
• Cancer care for breast and gynecologic cancers
• Dedicated cardiac care to enhance women's heart health
• Gynecologic surgery
• High-risk pregnancy care
• Labor and delivery services
• Orthopedic care for women with osteopenia and osteoporosis
• Pregnancy and parenting classes
• Weight management support

Our women's unit

Our women's unit provides comprehensive care for expectant mothers, from labor and delivery to postpartum care. We also offer dedicated high-risk pregnancy rooms for women who require extra monitoring and attention prior to childbirth.

Women who give birth at our hospital benefit from private labor and delivery and mother-baby rooms. We promote immediate skin-to-skin contact and have rooming-in throughout your hospital stay. Board-certified lactation consultants are available to help you begin breastfeeding.

High-risk pregnancy services

We have board-certified maternal fetal medicine doctors who specialize in caring for mothers who may experience complications during pregnancy. These specialists care for mom and baby prior to birth. Additionally, if an emergency cesarean section (C-section) is needed, we have dedicated operating rooms down the hall from our labor and delivery rooms.

If your child requires extra medical attention after birth, our hospital offers the only Level III NICU in Southeast Georgia.

Take a virtual tour of our women's unit

To help our patients feel more comfortable coming to the hospital, we have created a virtual tour for every area in our women's unit. We hope this virtual tour will ease any anxieties you have and help you become familiar with our women's services.

Take our virtual tour to view the women's entrance, triage room, labor and delivery rooms, mother-baby rooms, high-risk pregnancy room, dedicated operating room, recovery area, NICU and gift shop.

We also offer a non-interactive, accessible online tour option.

Breast cancer services

Screening for breast cancer is a vital part of every women's healthcare plan. We perform 3D mammograms to help identify signs of breast cancer early, when it is most treatable. If you receive a breast cancer diagnosis, we are here with surgical treatments and specialized radiation therapy.

For women who undergo a mastectomy, we offer breast reconstructive surgery. This allows women to maintain a natural breast appearance after the removal of breast tissue during breast cancer treatment.

Women's heart health

When it comes to heart health, women and men have different needs. Research has shown slight differences in the female heart that may cause them to exhibit different heart disease symptoms than men, making it harder to detect. We know that:

• Heart attack symptoms can be vague in women, making them less likely to seek rapid emergency care
• Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S.
• Women are more likely than men to die within a year following a heart attack

It is important for women to understand their risk factors and lead a healthy lifestyle to control their risk for heart disease. The Memorial Health Heart and Vascular Institute works with women to create action plans to keep the heart strong through all stages of life.

Reducing your risk for heart disease

Living a heart healthy lifestyle doesn't only help prolong your life but also offers benefits such as improved mood, healthier skin, weight loss and higher energy levels. Here are some tips for taking control of your heart health:

• Eat heart healthy foods
• Exercise
• Lower your cholesterol
• Monitor your blood pressure
• Reduce stress
• Stop smoking

Frequently asked gynecologic questions

It is normal to have questions about your routine gynecologic care and certain gynecologic tests and conditions. We have addressed some of the most commonly asked questions we receive from patients below.

How do you treat ovarian cancer?

This first step after an ovarian cancer diagnosis is to asses the stage and spread of the cancer. Treatment involves removing the ovaries and other surrounding tissues.

Chemotherapy is often recommended after surgery for patients, except those with very early stage ovarian cancer. Chemotherapy treatment cycles are typically three to four weeks. It is recommended for most patients to receive six to eight cycles.

In selected cases of recurrence, your doctor may recommend radiation. Finally, if large recurrences are seen on imaging studies, an additional operation may be needed to remove the affected areas.

Our hospital also offers women the opportunity to participate in clinical trials to treat ovarian cancer.

How often should women have a Pap smear?

Pap smear screenings differ for women of different age groups. From 21 years old to 29 years old, women should receive a Pap test every three years. If no abnormal results have been found, at 30 years old women should be screened every five years until they are 65 years old. At 65 years old, women may stop screenings if they have never had an abnormal result.

Since the advent of the Pap smear, death rates attributed to cervical cancer have significantly decreased.

What does an abnormal Pap smear mean?

An abnormal Pap smear result does not necessarily mean that a woman has cervical cancer. It does suggest that a woman may have an infection or pre-cancerous lesion. Following an abnormal result, a doctor may prescribe antibiotics, repeat the test or move directly to a colposcopic evaluation (close evaluation of the cervix).

Following further examination, the doctor will know if a biopsy is needed. Pap smears have drastically reduced the number of cervical cancer cases by identifying abnormalities in a pre-cancerous stage. This also allows doctors to prescribe fertility sparing treatments.

What causes bleeding in post-menopausal women?

Bleeding or spotting six to 12 months after periods have stopped is normal. Possible causes of bleeding in post-menopausal women include:

• Cancer within the lining of the uterus, called endometrial cancer
• Polyps
• Thinning of the vagina
• Use of tamoxifen (a drug given during breast cancer treatment)
• Use of unopposed estrogen

Endometrial cancer is a common cancer found in women. All post-menopausal women with bleeding should have an endometrial biopsy to rule out cancer.

Some physicians may perform an ultrasound to evaluate endometrial thickness. The best way to diagnose endometrial cancer is by removing a tissue sample from the lining of the uterus for testing.

What is a CA-125 test?

A CA-125 test is a type of blood test that checks for a protein called cancer antigen (CA) 125. The protein is made by some, but not all, ovarian cancers. If a woman receives an ovarian cancer diagnosis, a doctor may check to see if she has an elevated CA-125 level prior to surgery and chemotherapy.

Physicians check CA-125 levels throughout cancer treatment to assess how well treatment is working.