In July, the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) launched an inquiry on women’s reproductive health. The purpose of the inquiry was to increase understanding on the typical challenges that women face during the diagnosis and treatment of gynaecological and urogynecological conditions.
Some of the conditions the cross-party committee wanted to learn more about were adenomyosis, endometriosis and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).
Yesterday, as part of the inquiry, two women in the public eye shared their experiences of health issues during a WEC evidence session.
Reproductive health
Naga Munchetty, a newsreader on the BBC, and Vicky Pattison, a TV personality who rose to fame on Geordie Shore, both provided the committee with an insight into their respective conditions and what it’s like to live with them. Munchetty only received her diagnosis of adenomyosis last year after 32 years of issues while Pattison has PMDD.
Munchetty told the committee how she had visited several doctors over a 32-year period in relation to the intense pain she experienced while on her period but was told to “suck it up” and that it was something that every woman went through. She added:
“Whenever I went to the doctor I was told it was normal, and I have quite a high profile job. I wouldn’t sleep because I would have to set an alarm say for two in the morning, every four hours, and I would be lying on a towel and I’d have a heavy sanitary towel and a super plus tampon in and I’d set an alarm to change.
“It made relationships difficult, I had to have very understanding partners. I would worry about what I wore, particularly when I went in front of the camera, because of leaking. But my adenomyosis wasn’t diagnosed until I was 47.”
Getting a diagnosis
Following a period where she bled heavily for two weeks last year, Munchetty asked her husband to phone an ambulance. She said it was only then that she felt like she was taken seriously which led her to private healthcare to get to the root of the problem once and for all. She said:
“I was fortunate enough to be able to have private healthcare but it was the only time I felt I could sit there and take time and force an issue, force understanding, force explanations from my gynaecologist and not feel bad that I was taking up more than 10 minutes of my GP’s time because there was a queue of people in the waiting room.
“This came after a lifetime of being told ‘You’re just unlucky, it’s just one of those things.’ A lifetime of changing my behaviour, adapting my plans, changing my life to cope with the pain and I am just one of many, many more women.”
Munchetty was finally diagnosed with adenomyosis, a condition where the lining of the womb grows muscles in its walls. After revealing her diagnosis last year, she said that several GPs got in touch with her to say they’d never heard of the condition as they’d never been taught about it. Therefore, they didn’t know how to diagnose it.
It’s time to start taking women seriously
Vicky Pattison, who suffers from PMDD, had a similar experience to Munchetty in relation to how she was made to feel invalidated by GPs when reporting her symptoms. The TV personality told the committee:
“I was always told exactly the same thing: ‘This is PMS. This is what women go through. Every other woman in the world is dealing with this.’
“I can’t tell you how many times I got told, ‘The symptoms will get worse as you get older, this is just natural’. And you believe it. You absolutely believe it and you believe that you’re weak, that you can’t cope with what every other woman is coping with.”
Like Munchetty, Pattison eventually went private and immediately got her diagnosis of PMDD saying that it was “the first time somebody actually listened and took it seriously.”
Both women believe NHS professionals need to start taking women’s health more seriously. Pattison said: “GPs, anyone within the NHS, any medical professionals at all, they just need to start to take women seriously when they say something’s wrong. There is a lot of stigma which means women are ashamed to talk about it and this horrible culture is perpetuated.”
Munchetty added: “When women do try to speak about it they get labelled as troublemakers. It’s really hard for women to win but if the medical profession understood more, then we wouldn’t have to fight as hard and feel like such a nuisance.”
Final thought
The testimonies of Naga Munchetty and Vicky Pattison serve as a powerful reminder of the urgent need to address the gender disparities in women’s healthcare. The dismissal and misdiagnosis of their conditions, despite years of suffering, are unacceptable.
It is imperative that healthcare professionals, within the NHS and beyond, undergo comprehensive training to better understand and diagnose women’s health issues. Additionally, breaking the stigma around discussing these matters openly is crucial for women to receive the care they deserve.