Reproductive conditions are being dismissed due to medical misogyny a parliamentary report uncovers. Women and girls are made to withstand years of pain with conditions such as endometriosis and adenomyosis.
These gynaecological conditions are being treated with inadequate care due to a “pervasive stigma.” We expect our healthcare professionals to have a world-class education but these conditions are being dismissed due to a lack of education.
This is a systemic problem across the UK, with the issue spanning the healthcare system, sexual education and societal norms.
Worrying medical symptoms women face are dismissed as “normal” causing them to wait years to get a diagnosis. This leaves women in often avoidable pain which interferes with every facet of their lives.
The report found a “clear lack of awareness and understanding of women’s reproductive health conditions among primary healthcare practitioners.”
The report found that progress in the 2022 Women’s Health Strategy for England has been too slow. It found sex education has not taught girls what constitutes “normal periods”, and that diagnoses are slow and symptoms dismissed as normal.
Women are facing painful procedures that they are not informed of with pain relief not always offered.
The report calls for the government to allocate more funding for research into women’s reproductive health conditions.
Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee Sarah Owen said the report should be a “wake-up point” for the government and NHS. Adding: “Our inquiry has shown misogyny in medicine is leaving women in pain and their conditions undiagnosed. Women are finding their symptoms dismissed, are waiting years for life-changing treatment and in too many cases are being put through trauma-inducing procedures. All the while, their conditions worsen and become more complicated to treat.”
“Up to one in three women live with heavy menstrual bleeding, one in ten have a condition such as endometriosis or adenomyosis. It cannot be right that despite the prevalence of these conditions, such a lack of understanding and awareness persists.”
The select committee heard evidence from broadcasters Naga Munchetty and Vicky Pattison. They detailed their experiences with adenomyosis and PMDD, highlighting the poor care they received.
Janet Lindsay, the chief executive of Wellbeing of Women, said: “Millions of women and girls suffer with heavy bleeding and severe period pain that disrupts their lives, leading to them taking time off school, work, or their caring responsibilities.
“Instead of getting the treatment and support they desperately need, they’re often dismissed and told it’s “just a period”. This is unacceptable.
“We also want to see better menstrual health education in schools, so that women know when and how to seek help and increased funding for gynaecological research. We need to do more to ensure that women and girls are no longer held back by their periods.”
