MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) - A local doctor is encouraging women to visit their OB/GYN each year.

Doctor at Atrium Health Navicent, Joanna Ortega, says women should start getting Pap smears by age 21. According to the CDC, a Pap smear is needed every 3 years for women ages 21-30.

Ortega adds that once you turn 30, women will then screen for HPV. The screenings are done to make sure women do not have cervical cancer, and if they do, then they can detect it early.

"In my personal opinion, if we live in the United States of America, there's no reason someone should have cervical cancer," says Ortega. "That screening helps us catch it early, and we can do interventions. We can prevent it from, you know, going further, catching any abnormal cellular change."

Ortega adds that seeing your OB/GYN is important because they can help women in all stages of life.

"Whether it's contraception, whether it's planning your next pregnancy, whether you have early menopause symptoms, things like that," says Ortega. "That's the time for us to kind of check in and see what issues you're having and really kind of intervene early."