research topics women's health

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock Locked padlock icon ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Welcome to Phase One of DiscoverWHR!

This is just the beginning! Stay tuned as we continue to roll out new research areas and features.

DiscoverWHR is a centralized resource for women’s health research and information from NIH that supports NIH-wide efforts to close the gaps in women’s health across the life course.

Select a research area to explore:

• Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
• Autoimmune Diseases (selected conditions)
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Scleroderma

More coming to this site soon!

This site provides information on NIH-funded:

• Open funding opportunities
• Awarded research projects
• Recruiting and upcoming clinical trials
• Latest literature published on NIH-funded research
• Patient-friendly summaries of health topics

An official website of the United States government

Here's how you know

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

Call the OWH HELPLINE: 1-800-994-9662 9 a.m. — 6 p.m. ET, Monday — Friday OWH and the OWH helpline do not see patients and are unable to: diagnose your medical condition; provide treatment; prescribe medication; or refer you to specialists. The OWH helpline is a resource line. The OWH helpline does not provide medical advice.

Please call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room if you are experiencing a medical emergency.

A-Z Health Topics

• Anorexia nervosa
• Anxiety disorders
• Autoimmune diseases

Return to top

• Bacterial vaginosis
• Binge eating disorder
• Birth control methods
• Bladder control
• Bladder pain syndrome (interstitial cystitis)
• Bleeding disorders
• Breast cancer
• Breast reconstruction after mastectomy
• It's Only Natural: Breastfeeding information for African-American communities
• Business Case for Breastfeeding
• Supporting Nursing Mothers at Work: Employer Solutions
• Bulimia nervosa
• Caregiver stress
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Cervical cancer
• Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS)
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Date rape drugs
• Depression during and after pregnancy
• Domestic violence/abuse
• Eating disorders
• Emergency birth control/emergency contraception
• Endometriosis
• Female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C)
• Fibroids (uterine)
• Fibromyalgia
• Genital herpes
• Genital warts
• Getting active
• Graves' disease
• Hashimoto's disease
• Health Information Gateway  (formerly Quick Health Data Online)
• 2015 Report to Congress on Activities Related to Improving Women's Health
• Healthy eating
• Healthy living by age
• Healthy weight
• Make the Call
• Heart-healthy eating
• HIV and AIDS
• Human papillomavirus (HPV)
• Hysterectomy
• Infertility
• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
• Interstitial cystitis (bladder pain syndrome)
• Iron-deficiency anemia
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• Menstrual cycle
• Mental health
• Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS)
• Myasthenia gravis
• National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
• National Women's Health Week
• Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome/Opioid Withdrawal in Infants
• Nursing (breastfeeding)
• Oral health
• Osteoporosis
• Ovarian cancer
• Ovarian cysts
• Ovarian syndrome (PCOS or polycystic ovary syndrome)
• Overweight, obesity, and weight loss
• Ovulation calculator
• Pap and HPV tests
• Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
• Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
• Pelvic organ prolapse
• Period (menstruation)
• Physical activity (exercise)
• Postpartum depression
• Pregnancy and medicines
• Pregnancy tests
• Prenatal care
• Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
• Quick Health Data Online (now  Health Information Gateway )
• Screening tests and vaccines
• Sexual assault
• Sexually transmitted infections (STDs, STIs)
• Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), pregnancy, and breastfeeding
• Sickle cell disease
• Sleep and your health
• Spider veins and varicose veins
• Stress and your health
• Thyroid disease
• Trichomoniasis
• Urinary incontinence
• Urinary tract infection (UTI)
• Uterine cancer
• Uterine fibroids
• Vaginal yeast infections
• Varicose veins and spider veins
• Violence against women
• Viral hepatitis
• Weight loss (and overweight and obesity)
• Yeast infections
• Birth control
• Fitness and nutrition
• Healthy aging
• Quick Health Data Online
• Menstruation and the menstrual cycle
• Screening tests for women
• Female genital cutting
• Nutrition (and fitness)
• Men's health
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Binge eating
• HIV and AIDS
• HHS Non-Discrimination Notice
• Language Assistance Available
• Accessibility
• Privacy Policy
• Disclaimers
• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
• Use Our Content
• Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
• Kreyòl Ayisyen

A federal government website managed by the Office on Women's Health in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

1101 Wootton Pkwy, Rockville, MD 20852 1-800-994-9662 • Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET (closed on federal holidays).

• Skip to main content
• Skip to FDA Search
• Skip to in this section menu
• Skip to footer links

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

On Oct. 1, 2024, the FDA began implementing a reorganization impacting many parts of the agency. We are in the process of updating FDA.gov content to reflect these changes.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

•   Search
•   Menu
• Science & Research
• Science and Research Special Topics

Women's Health Research

From the fda office of women's health.

OWH promotes and conducts research initiatives that facilitate FDA regulatory decision-making and advance the understanding of sex differences and health conditions unique to women. Learn more about women’s health research in the Women’s Health section, including links below. 

About OWH research

OWH scientific programs support research, workshops, and initiatives that advance understanding of women’s health issues.

OWH-funded research

Learn more about research funded by OWH, including how to apply for extramural research funding, and a searchable list of projects.

Women's Health Research Roadmap

The Roadmap provides a framework for integrating women’s health science into all of FDA’s research activities.

Peer-reviewed scientific publications

OWH staff and OWH-funded researchers are working to advance the science of sex differences. View peer-reviewed publications.

Women's health education and training

Find continuing education opportunities, upcoming events, and subscribe to receive the latest information about future opportunities from OWH.

RELATED INFORMATION

Pregnancy exposure registries

Information collected can help health care providers and others who are pregnant learn more about the safety of medicines and vaccines used during pregnancy.

Bench to Bedside: Sex as a Biological Variable (SABV)

Free self-paced training on sex and gender differences that impact health, disease, and treatment, developed by OWH in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health.

Free publications for women

Download or order free copies of more than 40 fact sheets on women’s health topics.

Follow Office of Women's Health

X (formerly twitter).

Follow FDA Office of Women's Health @FDAWomen

Watch videos from Office of Women's Health on YouTube's FDA Channel

OWH Newsletter

The OWH newsletter highlights women's health initiatives, meetings, and regulatory safety information from FDA.

Paragraph Header Contact the FDA Office of Women's Health

[email protected]

(301) 796-9440 Phone (301) 847-8601 fax

Hours Available

Office of Women's Health

FDA Office of Women's Health Newsletter

The Office of Women's Health newsletter highlights women's health initiatives, meetings, and regulatory safety information from FDA.

Women's Health Research Center

Improving the health of women

Mayo Clinic Women's Health Research Center is a leader in providing evidence to improve healthcare for women and educating the next generation of women's health investigators and healthcare professionals.

The Mayo Clinic Women's Health Research Center advances scientific discoveries to improve the health of women through all stages of life.

The center is at the forefront of a new era in women's health, based on the understanding that the female body isn't simply a smaller version of the male form. Women and men have different chromosomes and hormones. Thus, disease risk, diagnosis and response to treatments — including some medicines — are often different for women and men.

Yet current medical treatments are often based on research that was conducted mainly on men. Or, when women were included, the research didn't account for differences between women and men.

Mayo Clinic is transforming women's health by advancing research and studies specifically focused on the unique needs and abilities of the female body through all stages of life.

Investigators in the Women's Health Research Center are studying why certain illnesses occur more often — or sometimes only — in women or manifest differently in women than in men. Armed with this information, healthcare professionals can better prevent, diagnose and treat some of today's most debilitating diseases.

For more than 150 years, Mayo Clinic research has changed the face of medicine, enabling healthcare professionals around the world to provide lifesaving care to millions of people. Now, Mayo is advancing research focused on women's health so that medical care can be personalized for women and men.

Right now, there are more than 1,400 research studies related to women's health across Mayo Clinic campuses in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota. Mayo researchers are dedicated to addressing the health issues women face, with the goal of improving women's health and quality of life.

• View Complete Calendar

Mayo Clinic Women's Health Research Center

Mayo Clinic Women's Health Research Center director Kejal Kantarci, M.D., former director, Virginia M. Miller, Ph.D., and colleagues talk about research in the Women's Health Research Center.

Center leadership

Associate Director

Mayo Clinic Footer

• Request Appointment
• About Mayo Clinic
• About This Site

Legal Conditions and Terms

• Terms and Conditions
• Privacy Policy
• Notice of Privacy Practices
• Notice of Nondiscrimination
• Manage Cookies

Advertising

Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization and proceeds from Web advertising help support our mission. Mayo Clinic does not endorse any of the third party products and services advertised.

• Advertising and sponsorship policy
• Advertising and sponsorship opportunities

Reprint Permissions

A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.org," "Mayo Clinic Healthy Living," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

Putting science to work for the health of women

White House Initiative on Women's Health Research

On November 13, 2023, President Biden issued a Presidential Memorandum announcing the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research (WHI-WHR), an effort led by First Lady Jill Biden and the White House Gender Policy Council. On March 18, 2024, President Biden signed a new Executive Order on Advancing Women's Health Research and Innovation (EO 14120) with directives to ensure women’s health is integrated and prioritized across the federal research portfolio and budget.  

White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research Workshop

In collaboration with the White House Gender Policy Council, NIH held a workshop on October 29, 2024 at the White House to showcase how NIH is harnessing interdisciplinary research and innovation to accelerate and improve health for all women. NIH leadership, Institute and Center Directors, and members of the women's health research community came together in this workshop which highlighted NIH interdisciplinary research advancements for women across the lifespan and explored the potential and promise of women’s health research.

Workshop Summary - Coming Soon

"Advancing Women's Health Research and Innovation" Fact Sheet

The " Advancing Women's Health Research and Innovation " Fact Sheet details how NIH is responding to the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research by elevating and prioritizing research on women’s health.

The fact sheet describes how NIH is:

• Maximizing the impact of women’s health research
• Addressing the health needs of women across the life course
• Accelerating small business and technology research and development in women’s health
• Advancing the study of women’s health through research and data standards  

NIH Women's Health Roundtable Series

In response to the Presidential Memorandum on the WHI-WHR, ORWH developed the NIH Women's Health Roundtable Series based on feedback from NIH institutes, centers, and offices (ICOs) to bring attention to priority Department of Health and Human Services topics and to disseminate information on federally supported research areas. The Roundtable Series is supported by NIH ICO leadership and engages the extramural research community and the public to raise awareness of the study and analysis of conditions specific to women, conditions that disproportionately impact women, and conditions that affect women differently. 

This series provides a platform for federal employees, extramural scientists, and members of the public to engage in constructive dialogue to define the necessary next steps to advance research on key women’s health research topics.

The Roundtable Series is open to federal employees, extramural scientists, and members of the public at large.

Past Events

September 16, 2024 12:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. EDT

Elevating Women’s Voices to Improve Maternal Mental Health was the third roundtable of the NIH Women’s Health Roundtable Series , which focused on important women’s health topics, such as maternal mental health, as part of the White House Women’s Health Research Initiative . This series was developed as a recommended action in response to the Presidential Memorandum to bring attention to priority topics within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and to disseminate information on federally supported research areas.  

The roundtable was also featured in the National Institute of Mental Health’s (NIMH) Office of Disparities Research and Workforce Diversity Webinar Series , which focused on mental health equity research topics. The event was co-hosted by NIH’s Office of Research on Women’s Health and NIMH.

The goals of this roundtable were to:  

• Spotlight high priority research areas related to women's mental health during pregnancy and the postpartum period, up to one year following childbirth.  
• Share information on how NIMH-supported research advances the development of and access to screening, diagnostics, and preventive and treatment interventions to improve women’s mental health during the perinatal period.  
• Explain how maternal mental health research can reduce the burden of mental illnesses that contribute to maternal morbidity and mortality.
• Identify and explore gaps in areas critical to women’s research outlined within the Executive Order on Advancing Women's Health Research and Innovation (EO 14120) and the 2024-2028 NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for Research on the Health of Women . 

Sponsored by: NIMH’s Office for Disparities Research and Workforce Diversity and NIH’s Office of Research on Women’s Health

Contact: For questions, please contact   Tamara Lewis Johnson .  

August 19, 2024  1:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m. EDT

Beyond the Lesion: Charting New Paths was the second event of NIH Women’s Health Roundtable Series, which focused on important women’s health topics, such as endometriosis, as part of the White House Women’s Health Research Initiative. This series was developed as a recommended action in response to the Presidential Memorandum to bring attention to priority topics within the Department of Health and Human Services and to disseminate information on federally supported research areas. For more information about the series, visit the NIH Women's Health Roundtable Series page. This roundtable was co-hosted by the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development . The goal of the endometriosis roundtable was to bring together diverse stakeholders, including researchers, clinicians, and community members to foster collaborative discussions and share insights on the latest developments in endometriosis research, diagnosis, and treatment. This collaborative effort aimed to identify key challenges and develop strategies to improve patient care.

View event details. 

Watch the videocast below or view it in fullscreen here .

May 16, 2024 11:00 a.m.–12:45 p.m. EDT

This roundtable served as the launching event for the series, which was hosted by ORWH and the Office of Disease Prevention . The roundtable sparked dialogue on the science on menopause and highlighted NIH-supported work in the menopause research domain. It also furthers initiatives outlined within the Executive Order on Advancing Women’s Health Research and Innovation to identify and explore gaps in women’s health and diseases and conditions that arise during women’s midlife and later years.

Director’s Messages

November 5, 2024

October 7, 2024

August 29, 2024

June 28, 2024

• Copy/Paste Link Link Copied

Women's Health

Women’s health is a broad category that includes health issues that are unique to women, such as menstruation and pregnancy, as well as conditions that affect both men and women, but that may affect women differently, such as heart disease and diabetes.

Understanding and improving women’s health is a central part of NICHD’s mission. Institute-led and -supported research focuses on a range of topics unique to women and females. These include gynecological health , such as menstruation; pregnancy and related topics, such as prenatal care; conditions that affect fertility , such as Primary Ovarian Insufficiency; reproductive health , such as birth control; and other conditions, such as Turner syndrome.

Because women’s health encompasses so many conditions and activities, we can’t cover all of them on this website. Instead, we offer information on some of the women’s health topics within the NICHD’s research portfolio. Each health topic includes resources for patients and families, and for providers and researchers. You may want to consult those web pages to locate more detailed information.

Visit any one of the following health topics to learn more about the institute's research efforts to related to women’s health.

NICHD Health Topics Related to Women’s Health

Bacterial Vaginosis

Breastfeeding and Breast Milk

Contraception and Birth Control

Endometriosis

Fragile X-Associated Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (FXPOI)

High-Risk Pregnancy

Infertility and Fertility

Labor and Delivery

Maternal Morbidity and Mortality

Menstruation and Menstrual Problems

Pelvic Floor Disorders (PFDs)

Pelvic Pain

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

Pre-Pregnancy Care and Prenatal Care

Preeclampsia and Eclampsia

Pregnancy Loss (Before 20 Weeks of Pregnancy)

Preterm Labor and Birth

Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI)

Puberty and Precocious Puberty

Reproductive Health

Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Turner Syndrome

Urinary Tract Health

Uterine Fibroids