ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION Reproductive health critically impacts a couple’s wellbeing and functional capacity throughout their lives. e reproductive system, with its controlling hormones and cyclical changes, governs physiological events at puberty, across the menstrual cycle, during pregnancy, and in parturition, lactation, and menopause. e majority of women experience some form of reproductive disorder over the course of life, and many chronic and severe reproductive disorders remain without preventive strategies, clear diagnostics, or successful treatment. Even “normal” pregnancy can reveal or precipitate underlying chronic metabolic disease. e direct cost of maternal and neonatal conditions is substantial (1).
