Women and girls are enduring years of pain because their reproductive conditions are being dismissed due to “medical misogyny”, according to a damning parliamentary report.
The report, by the Women and Equalities committee, found that gynaecological conditions such as endometriosis and adenomyosis are treated with inadequate care due to a “pervasive stigma”, a lack of education by healthcare professionals and “medical misogyny”.
The Commons select committee, which set out to examine the experiences of care women with reproductive conditions get in England, found that symptoms are often “normalised” and it can take years for women to get a diagnosis and treatment.
The substandard gynaecological care cited by the report also includes routine IUD contraceptive fittings, cervical screenings, and hysteroscopies.
The report said women were being left in pain and discomfort that “interferes with every aspect of their daily lives”, including their education, careers, relationships and fertility, while their conditions worsen.
It also found there to be a “clear lack of awareness and understanding of women’s reproductive health conditions among primary healthcare practitioners” and concluded that gynaecological care is not being treated as a priority.
Pervasive stigma associated with gynaecological and urogynaecological health, a lack of education and “medical misogyny” has contributed to poor awareness of these conditions.
The committee heard evidence from broadcasters Naga Munchetty and Vicky Pattison, who detailed the poor care they received when being treated for adenomyosis and pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder respectively.
The report calls for the government to allocate more funding for research into women’s reproductive health conditions, and for the government’s women’s health hub model to be allocated long-term and ringfenced funding.
Endometriosis affects one in 10 women in the UK and is caused by tissue similar to the lining of the uterus growing elsewhere in the body, often resulting in chronic pelvic pain and painful periods. Adenomyosis causes the lining of the uterus to grow into its muscular wall, which again causes painful symptoms.
Sarah Owen, Labour MP for Luton North and chair of the Women and Equalities committee, said the report was a “wake-up call” for the government and the 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.”
Zainab Kaleemullah, a 35-year-old civil servant, was diagnosed with endometriosis and adenomyosis in 2022, despite having experienced the painful symptoms such as heavy periods, nausea and chronic anaemia associated with the diseases for a decade.
It took Zainab Kaleemullah a decade to get an endometriosis and adenomyosis diagnosis, despite displaying symptoms. Photograph: Zainab Kaleemullah
In the time before being officially diagnosed, Kaleemullah found her symptoms to be dismissed by healthcare professionals.
“I would go to the GP constantly, I was misdiagnosed with depression and irritable bowel syndrome, I was sort of given the impression that it was all in my head and this was completely normal for women to be experiencing,” she said.
“It made me feel incredibly isolated – I would constantly have to go to my GP, tell them my symptoms and them just turning me away and not taking me seriously.”
Emma Cox, the chief executive of Endometriosis UK, said her charity welcomed the report and its recommendations.
She added: “These [recommendations], along with the passion for this issue which is expressed in the committee’s report, should give hope to those impacted by endometriosis and menstrual health conditions that their voice is being heard.
Women in the UK: share your experience of gynaecological pain
“Endometriosis UK looks forward to working with governments and health services across the UK to turn the recommendations in the report into reality.”
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.”
An NHS England spokesperson said: “Too often in the NHS we hear of women whose health concerns have been dismissed, which is why we are taking action to improve services for women, including rolling out women’s health hubs across the country.
“The hubs are giving thousands more women access to specialist support in the community which not only improves access and women’s experiences of care, but also helps to upskill healthcare professionals with a full range of staff working in one place.
“The NHS is also developing a network of women’s health champions made up of senior leaders in every local care system to drive forward improvements in women’s health.”
