'Put Up with the Pain': UK Report Exposes Gaps in Women's Reproductive Healthcare

Misogyny is defined as feelings of hatred towards women, or the belief that men are better than women. Unfortunately, this attitude is also reflected in medicine. Women are often told to "put up" with the pain. Members of Westminster's Women and Equalities Committee in their report noted that women with gynaecological or reproductive issues are not provided the support they need. Women with conditions such as heavy periods, endometriosis and adenomyosis are dismissed for asking for help. Chairwoman of the committee Sarah Owen also said that women were being "fobbed off" and told that this would not have happened "if it was a man," reported BBC.

The Narratives Of Pain

Many women also took to their social media platforms to talk about the pain they have been asked to put up with. Many of these cases are of those women who have had their IUDs inserted. Dr Kristina Dervaitis, a gynaecologist based in Canada writes that some women experience "an exceptionally painful IUD insertion experience, it is important for the healthcare practitioner who does the insertion to talk to the patient before insertion and to tell them the options, including sedation or anaesthesia. "The experience of the health care practitioner doing the insertion can make a big difference as to the overall discomfort of the procedure," she writes.

Another UK-based consultant gynaecologist Dr Ola Conlon writes that "it is unacceptable for anyone to feel dismissed or ensured unnecessary pain during a medical procedure." Talking about IUD insertion, she says, that many women feel pain during IUD insertion and some of the women do not even consent.

She says that while for some women it is actually "not that bad", but those who shared their "horror" stories of having IUD inserted, are also true.

What should be considered instead?

How would you know if you will experience pain during IUD insertion? Dr Conlon says that if you have never had any children or you have had a previous cesarean section, then "it will be potentially a lot more difficult to get [IUD] inside the womb." She also shares that if the womb is tilted, it makes it much more difficult for women to have the IUD inserted. These are some of the factors that the healthcare professional must consider before inserting an IUD.

However, most of the time, these situations are not considered, as also mentioned in the committee's report. In fact, the report mentions that diagnosis and treatments for women's reproductive health conditions can take years. The report also found a "clear lack of awareness and understanding of women's reproductive health conditions among primary healthcare practitioners". Citing stigma, and lack of education, the report called on the National Health Service (NHS) to urgently implement a training programme" to improve the experience of women and girls accessing diagnosis and treatment for gynaecological conditions.

Talking about PCOS, and weight shaming, Dr Sonam Simpatwar, a reproductive medicine specialist, based in Mumbai, says, "PCOS already carries mental and emotional burdens, and weight shaming only exacerbates feelings of isolation." Thus a supportive doctor-patient relationship can transform the approach to managing PCOS, endometriosis or any other reproductive health-related issues in women.

The past reflects the present

Even historically too, women have been neglected. In the past too, whether it is birth control or IUD, women were put through experiments without their consent. Oftentimes, these experiments led to lethal results or caused women to carry their lives with chronic health conditions. This is because there is a continued notion that women can tolerate pain. In fact, James Marion Sims, who is considered the "father of modern gynaecology", conducted his research on enslaved Black women without anaesthesia.