Michael Reed, MD, MSCP, on steps physicians can take to advance women's sexual health

Physicians can begin addressing women's sexual health immediately without becoming subspecialists, according to Michael A. Reed, MD, MSCP, board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist in Davis, California, and a NAMS-certified menopause practitioner. The discussion builds on Reed's proposed “Fourth Pillar” framework for women's sexual health, published in the International Journal of Sexual Health, and his argument that fragmented care leaves patients without a clinical home.^1-3

Reed framed the clinician's role as fundamentally educational, and that impacts can be made imminently.

“Physicians can begin to do something right away… They do not have to be sexual health experts. Each and every one of us is an educator so that we can educate,” he said. “[For example,] if we just got out a mirror at every examination, explain what we saw, we now take the vulva and the vagina and have a real clinical conversation. It is no longer something that we examine in silence with the drape up quickly [with] not much to say,” he said.

Reed described the mirror as a signal to the patient that her concerns are heard.

“By bringing a mirror in, we are telling the patient that we hear you. We want to have a true clinical conversation about your vulva and vagina because it is important. We know that it has an impact on your life. And so the first thing would be just asking the question, bringing out a mirror,” Reed said.

His second recommendation centered on clinician education, ranging from informal sources, such as notable women’s health podcasts and social media platforms, to specialized resources, such as external training.

Reed pointed to 2 organizations as central to that effort.

“The 2 most important organizations, obviously, are ACOG [and] ISSWSH,” he said of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health, respectively, encouraging physicians to participate in and help grow the latter organization.

Reed framed these steps as building toward a system in which women's sexual health has clinical guidelines, research infrastructure, and training infrastructure alongside the 3 established pillars of women's health.

References

1. Reed MA. Beyond reproduction and disease: proposing a fourth pillar of women’s health as a clinical framework for sexual function, intimacy, and identity. Int J Sex Health. Published online July 20, 2026. Accessed July 28, 2026. doi:10.1080/19317611.2026.2704787
2. Reed MA. Michael Reed, MD, MSCP, on proposing sexual health as a pillar of women's health. Contemporary OB/GYN. July 28, 2026. Accessed August 5, 2026. https://www.contemporaryobgyn.net/view/michael-reed-md-mscp-proposing-sexual-health-pillar-women-health
3. Fitch J, Reed MA. Michael Reed, MD, MSCP, on how a sexual health framework legitimizes women's concerns. Contemporary OB/GYN. August 4, 2026. Accessed August 6, 2026. https://www.contemporaryobgyn.net/view/michael-reed-md-mscp-on-how-a-sexual-health-framework-legitimizes-women-s-concerns