Midlife Health
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As you age into your 40s, things change. Your hormones shift. The effects can drain you of your energy. You can't lose weight as easily as you once could. You might wonder if you'll ever feel back to your old self again.
You don't just have to suffer through it. At UVA Health, we can help you manage the impacts to your physical, emotional, and sexual health.
Facing Middle Age With UVA Health Experts
At UVA Health, we have experts in midlife support. Our team works with other specialists to make sure you get the right care and support. We'll help you establish simple lifestyle routines to enhance your well being. And you can trust that you'll get the right screenings when you need them, depending on your age and risk.
Menopause symptoms can hit hard. Hormone therapies and antidepressant combinations can treat menopausal symptoms while preventing bone loss and cancer. We're at the leading edge of the field in customizing treatments that are both safe and effective.
About Our Midlife Health Clinic
Sleep problems, weight gain, hot flashes, lack of libido: Menopause can feel overwhelming. Let us help you manage how menopause effects your life.
JoAnn Pinkerton: I'm JoAnn Pinkerton, I'm a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and also, the Executive Director for the North American Menopause Society. This society that takes care of menopausal women.
Our Midlife Health Center, is actually, multidisciplinary. So we have a cardiologist currently, it's Brandy Patterson who works with us. An endocrinologist Allen Dalcon and then, we work with the breast center for our mammograms and for abnormal mammograms or breast masses. We work with internists for primary care providers or for medical treatments. We work with the psychology and psychiatry department for any types of depression or anxiety. So we really, like to provide about 70% of care at the Midlife Health Center and then, refer out within the entire institution. It feels really lucky because we have so many great people and so many departments.
There are very places in the country that have these multi-disciplinary centers where menopausal women are the focus. And women are so busy taking care of other people, they forget to take care of themselves. We help them focus on themselves, figure out what their risks are. We give them up-to-date information and, we know who to send them to for any specific problems that they have.
UVA and Charlottesville, is really lucky to have the Midlife Health Center here because, we really care about menopausal women and we're going to help women through this process. We're also going to connect them to the other help that they need. Whether it's breast health, bone health, gastro and emotional help, internal medicine, or even, mood disorder issues. And that's what's different about UVA. Not only are a team but we have experts in all these areas and, we know who they are and they know who we are, and we work together.
Tools to Handle Stress & Menopause
Our specialists can help you find ways, including hormone replacement therapy (HRT), to manage:
- Itchy, dry vagina (atrophic vaginitis)
- Menopause and perimenopause
- Osteoporosis
- Post-menopausal bleeding
One Woman's Experience With Yoga as Medicine
In middle age, stress increases your risk for a number of issues, including sexual dysfunction. Yoga, meditation, mindfulness and deep breathing can help. These therapies can exercise your heart and provide relief for hot flashes.
Yoga can also lower blood pressure. Read this woman's story of avoiding blood pressure medication through medical yoga.
Midlife Health Services
Blog Women's Health Tag
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Our Women's Heart Health program provides care focused on you. See these 2 stories of women who got care from Dr. Rodriguez Lozano's team.
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Latina Women’s Healthcare & Resilience: Hispanic Heritage Month
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News Womens Health Category
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Photo curtesy of Lauren Polizzi, Bold Character Media
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UVA Health University Medical Center Earns National, State Breastfeeding Awards
UVA Health University Medical Center has earned national and state awards for supporting breastfeeding parents.
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UVA Health University Medical Center Named to Newsweek’s ‘America’s Best Maternity Hospitals’ List
Newsweek has honored UVA Health University Medical Center on its list of America’s Best Maternity Hospitals for its high-quality care of mothers and newborns.
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UVA Health Prince William Medical Center Receives $2 Million Donation from the Cecil and Irene Hylton Foundation
The Cecil and Irene Hylton Foundation is donating $2 million to support the upgrade and enhancement of UVA Health Prince William Medical Center’s mother-baby unit.
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Two UVA Health Community Medical Centers Earn Top Rankings in U.S. News & World Report 2025 Best Hospitals for Maternity Care
MANASSAS, VA., January 7, 2025 – UVA Health Culpeper Medical Center and UVA Health Prince William Medical Center have earned top rankings in U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 Best Hospitals for Maternity Care. Prince William Medical Center received the highest possible ranking of “High Performing Hospitals.” Culpeper Medical Center and Prince William Medical Center […]
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UVA Health Completes Purchase of Piedmont Family Practice
UVA Health today announced it has completed the purchase of Piedmont Family Practice, a Warrenton-based family medicine clinic serving the Warrenton area since 1993.
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UVA Health Outpatient Imaging Culpeper Installs Second Mammography Machine
UVA Health Outpatient Imaging Culpeper is proud to unveil the latest enhancement to their center: a second innovative mammography machine with the addition of a new breast biopsy system. This addition marks a significant stride in bolstering the commitment to delivering superior patient outcomes by integrating AI-powered analytics into mammograms. The introduction of this new […]
