Programs

• Certain diseases have complications specific to women
  
  
• Some disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), constipation and fecal incontinence, occur more often in women than in men.
  
  
• Hormones may play a role in a women’s gastrointestinal health. During pregnancy, for example, gastrointestinal disorders are common among women. Certain functional disorders of the gastrointestinal tract can be triggered or worsened by hormonal changes during a woman’s menstrual cycle. The decline in estrogen and progesterone production during and after menopause may also affect a women’s GI health, causing symptoms such as GI distress, indigestion, flatulence and nausea.
  
  
• Some gastrointestinal disorders, such as a rectocele, occur only in women. A rectocele is an abnormal bulging of the rectovaginal septum (a membrane between the rectum and vagina).

Author: Marla Fraunfelder

Date: Oct. 17, 2007