My twenty second entry for the A to Z blogging challenge with the theme women's health issues is about vaginosis. The vagina is a vibrant ecosystem of a variety of microbial life competing to thrive, and keeping each other in check. What happens when this delicate balance is disturbed? Read on to find out.

My twenty first entry for the A to Z blogging challenge with the theme women's health issues is about urinary tract infections, which a woman has about a 40 to 60 percent chance of contracting at some point in her life.

My twentieth entry for the A to Z blogging challenge with the theme women's health issues is about thyroid related problems, which are eight times more common in women than in men!

My nineteenth entry for the A to Z blogging challenge with the theme women's health issues is about sexually transmitted diseases, how they affect women in particular, and what precautions one needs to take to prevent them.

My seventeenth entry for the A to Z blogging challenge with the theme women's health issues is about rheumatoid arthritis, a serious autoimmune condition, that disproportionately affects women. 70 % of those who suffer form it are women.

My seventeenth entry for the A to Z blogging challenge with the theme women's health issues is about queasiness during morning sickness aka a prolonged tour of hell. And you thought that labor was bad! Read on to find out more about it.

My sixteenth entry for the A to Z blogging challenge with the theme women's health issues is about periods. Love it, hate it or hardly notice it, it's going to come knocking every month for few decades, well unless you're knocked up, that is. Read on to find out about ways in which periods could be more comfortable and some of the complications associated with them.

My fifteenth entry for the A to Z blogging challenge with the theme women's health issues is about the female orgasm. The female orgasm is a hushed up taboo subject, with a complicated history and has had loads of misconceptions associated with it over the years. But there are health benefits and health conditions associated with it too. Read on to learn more about this scarcely talked about subject.

My fourteenth entry for the A to Z blogging challenge with the theme women's health issues is about neonatal intensive care units. While this is more about infant care, it strongly affects mothers too, and not just indirectly. The time when the baby is in the NICU, is often an emotionally stressful time following either a difficult pregnancy or complicated child birth. While the mother herself is recovering physically, the emotional stress is daunting, and she can use all the support she can get from medical facilities, family and society.

My thirteenth entry for the A to Z blogging challenge with the theme women's health issues is about menopause, which signifies the end of menstruation and fertility. While one might expect that to be a huge relief from bleeding every month, our reproductive system takes one last swing at making us miserable, before it shuts down for good. But there is an interesting evolutionary theory to explain why menopause occurs. Read on to learn about it.

My twelveth entry for the A to Z blogging challenge with the theme women's health issues is about the labor of love and it is not pretty. I am talking about labor and child birth. When I was pregnant, in the last month I wished I knew what labor and child birth really felt like, so I could be mentally prepared for it. But there were few people sharing their experiences in detail. So, here I will share my own experience in detail and I hope it helps some of you there in your last months, wondering what is to come. Of course, no two experiences are alike as you will see. I have included some useful informative links as well.

My eleventh entry for the A to Z blogging challenge with the theme women's health issues is about kidney disease. Kidney disease affects a significant fraction of the total population, but women face certain unique challenges, because of their reproductive system. Read on to learn about the symptoms, causes and treatments for kidney disease.

My tenth entry for the A to Z blogging challenge with the theme women's health issues is about jaundice during pregnancy. Jaundice during pregnancy, though rare, can be a serious issue. Yet some of the early symptoms can often be confused with morning sickness. Read on to learn more about it.

My ninth entry for the A to Z blogging challenge with the theme women's health issues is about ischemic strokes. Strokes are the fourth leading cause of death in women and ischemic strokes account for about 88% of all strokes. 60% of all stroke deaths are among women and strokes kill twice as many women as breast cancer does.

Heart disease is the number one cause of death in women, affecting one in three or four women. Symptoms of a heart attack in women, are quite different from widely known symptoms, which are more common among men. Read on to acquaint yourself with the risk factors and other details of heart diseases that are different in women than they are in men.

My seventh entry for the A to Z blogging challenge with the theme women's health issues is about gestational diabetes, a growing problem that seems to have more serious implications than anticipated earlier. However there is no need to panic. In most cases it can be easily managed. Read on to find out more about it.

My sixth entry for the A to Z blogging challenge with the theme women's health issues is about fertility or the lack thereof. When a couple can't conceive, it is usually assumed that something is wrong with the woman, especially if she is over 30, but that is not always the case. In this post I will discuss the various causes of infertility and talk about the magic of in vitro fertilization.

My fifth entry for the A to Z blogging challenge with the theme women's health issues is about endometriosis, a painful womb condition, that usually remains undiagnosed for several years.

My fourth entry for the A to Z blogging challenge with the theme women's health issues is about postpartum depression and what got me thinking about it.

My third entry for the A to Z blogging challenge with the theme women's health issues is about one of my greatest fears, cancer.

My second entry for the A to Z blogging challenge with the theme women's health issues is about my experience with breast feeding and the things I learned from my personal experiences and some research.

My first entry for the A to Z blogging challenge with the theme women's health issues is about appendicitis. How is appendicitis different for women and what should you know about it? Read on to find out.

Nikki was feeling exhausted. Her best friend Deepa was visiting after almost a year. Nikki should have been elated. But she could not muster the enthusiasm. She was emotionally spent.

I'll be participating in the A to Z blogging challenge this April, for the first time. Sounds daunting, yet exciting. Wish me luck! I am counting on your support.

A short story inspired by the cover photo. Read on to find out how this picture inspired a story titled Dangerous Liaisons