Girlfriends' Health and Safety Tips

Having friends is an important part of life. Celebrate female friendship and support your girlfriends by helping them stay safe and live well.

Eat healthy when hanging out.

Whether you’re gathered at home, a birthday celebration, or a girls’ night out, make healthy choices in what you eat and drink. Eat less junk food and foods high in calories, saturated fat, or added sugars or salt. Beverages can be high in calories too. Choose drinks with no calories, such as water, sparkling water, or unsweetened iced tea. A healthy weight contributes to good health now and as you age.

• Cutting Calories
• Fruits and Vegetables
• Healthy Weight
• Nutrition for Everyone

Be active while having fun.

Regular exercise can help improve your health. Exercising with friends can be fun. Adults should be active for at least 2½ hours a week. Kids and teens should be active for at least 1 hour a day. Talk and enjoy each other’s company while you walk, bowl, swim, dance, play tennis, and more. If your fun activity is outdoors, be safe and remember to protect yourself from the harmful rays of the sun’s radiation.

• Physical Activity for Everyone
• Physical Activity for a Healthy Weight
• Protect Yourself from the Sun

Help your girlfriends through hard times.

A friend with a chronic or mental illness, abusive relationship, or caregiving issues may lead a complicated life for a period of time. Do what you can to be supportive and encouraging, and recognize that it may be challenging for you and your friend. Be informed. Maintain your own mental and physical health.

• Cancer Survivorship
• Families with Special Needs: Caregiving Tips
• Intimate Partner Violence
• National Domestic Violence Hotline
• Prevention of Substance Abuse and Mental Illness (SAMHSA)

Help before, during, and after pregnancy.

If you or your friends don’t intend to get pregnant, there are safe and effective methods of birth control. It is important to use birth control correctly and consistently.

• Effectiveness of Family Planning Methods
• Women’s Reproductive Health

Are you or a friend thinking about having a baby? Prepare by taking care of your own health before you get pregnant to make sure that whenever you're ready to have a baby, you'll be healthy for yourself and your future child.

• Preconception Health
• Show Your Love! Steps to a Healthier Me and Baby-to-Be!

You can also help your girlfriend prepare for after the baby arrives. She can sign up for Text4baby, which provides free text messages with health information for mothers about having a healthy pregnancy and baby.
States have different programs to help women have healthy babies. For information on prenatal services in your community, call 1-800-311-BABY (1-800-311-2229). Para obtener información en español llame 1-800-504-7081.

• Text4baby
• Pregnancy Information
• Parent Information
• Healthcare.gov Special Enrollment Period

Empower each other to take control.

If your girlfriend is not taking care of her health, is being careless, or is putting herself or others at risk, let her know, or tell someone who can help. Realize that she may need professional help.

• HIV/AIDS
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases
• Motor Vehicle Safety
• Suicide Prevention
• Women with Disabilities
• Protect the Ones You Love

Don’t let alcohol, tobacco, or prescription drugs come between you.

Binge drinking results in around 23,000 deaths in women and girls each year. For women, binge drinking is 4 or more drinks on one occasion. Prescription painkiller overdoses are a growing problem among women as 18 women die every day of overdoses in the U.S. Drinking excessive alcohol, smoking, and abusing prescription drugs are bad for your health and can be very dangerous. Call 1-800-662-HELP (1-800-662-4357), and get information about drug and alcohol treatment programs in your local community and speak with someone about alcohol problems. For help to quit smoking, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669); TTY 1-855-855-7081; relay service 1-800-833-6384.

• Vital Signs: Binge Drinking--A Serious, Under-Recognized Problem among Women and Girls
• Vital Signs: Prescription Painkiller Overdoses - A Growing Epidemic Among Women
• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
• Quit Smoking

Be a great role model.

Get exams and screenings, vaccinations, and other health care you need. Manage stress from work, children, marriage, commuting, and life! Get enough sleep. Lower your risk for injury and disease. Take steps to live a healthier life.

• Girlfriends Health
• No Health Insurance? Get Covered
• Five Minutes (or Less) for Health
• Check-Up Checklist: Things to Do Before Your Next Check-Up
• Stress… At Work

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