Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Women's Health Checkup
Regular checkups with your health care provider are different from appointments for sickness or injury. Your checkups, which are also called well-woman exams, include physical exams as well as preventive care. They can help find health problems early, when they may be easier to treat.
Your checkup is usually done by a provider with special training in caring for women. It will include screenings for chronic diseases. As a woman, you may also get special exams and screenings, such as:
- A pelvic exam to check the health of your reproductive organs. Your provider will look at your vulva, vagina, and cervix. They will also do an internal exam to feel the size and shape of your internal organs such as the uterus and ovaries.
- A cervical cancer screening, which uses a Pap test, an HPV test, or both. The tests can help prevent cervical cancer. A Pap test checks for cervical cancer and for abnormal cells that could turn into cancer. An HPV test looks for the types of HPV which can cause cervical cancer. For both tests, your provider will take a sample of cells from the surface of your cervix and send them to a lab to be examined under a microscope.
- A clinical breast exam to check for breast cancer. Your provider will feel and look at your breasts and armpit area for lumps or other changes. They may also recommend a mammogram, which is an x-ray picture of your breast.
Which tests you get and how often you need them will depend on your age, overall health, and family health history. In some cases, your provider may also recommend other tests as well. For example, if you have a family history of certain cancers, your provider may recommend genetic testing.
During your checkup, you and your provider may also talk about other issues, such as:
- Birth control or family planning
- Menopause
- Menstrual concerns
- Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
- Vaccines
- Your overall physical health and mental well-being, including suggestions on how to have a healthy lifestyle
To make the most of your next checkup, bring a list of any questions or concerns you have, so you can talk about them with your provider.
It sits within Women and Wellness and Lifestyle.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Women's Health Checkup
9 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- The Impact of AI-Powered Training on Gynecological Examination Anxiety and SatisfactionFenerbahce University
- Health Belief Model-Based Survey on Breast Self-Examination Awareness and Practice Among Community-Dwelling Middle-Aged and Older WomenPeking Union Medical College Hospital
Research already completed
- Health Belief Model-Based Vulvar Self-Examination EducationEskisehir Osmangazi University
- Anthropometric Measurements on Size and Labour OutcomesUskudar University
- The Effect of Monthly Text Message Reminder After Training on Beliefs and Practice Behaviors Regarding Women's Breast Self Examination: Randomized Controlled StudyDeniz Akyıldız
- Effect of Education on Breast Cancer Fear and Health BeliefsKırklareli University
- Online Education and Counseling Regarding Gynecological ExaminationAydin Adnan Menderes University
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Get Your Well-Woman Visit Every YearOffice of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
- Making the Most of Your Health Care VisitAmerican College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Prevention and Risk Factors
- Women's Preventive Care TimelineJohns Hopkins Medicine
Related Issues
- 10 Telehealth Tips for an Ob-Gyn VisitAmerican College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Statistics and Research
- Catch-Up HPV Testing May Help Prevent Cervical Cancer in Some Over Age 65National Cancer Institute
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Women's HealthNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Women's Health, Physical Examination. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Women's Health Checkup, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.