Women's health (TW)

I hope the surgery is successful for your niece @Shaz51

@outlander it’s not just that funding goes to sports etc. It’s also that funding for health issues is not distributed on a needs basis. Or a population basis. A few contraceptive pills got added to the PBS today. So not only are women overwhelmingly responsible for contraception but it’s not funded on PBS. Which is ridiculous full stop, but women suffer from the pay gap, so earn less but have to pay more for something that should be the equal responsibility of both partners.

It feels like so much of women's health is misunderstood, dismissed and pushed aside, others don't always want to understand, they may be married, have daughters, nieces...

I'm reminded of something I heard on the news this week, this guy was sacked because he said endometriosis is all in the head. But how often do others say that with no consequence?

I mean even with abortion... how many people are coercively controlled to go "take care of it", how many see that for a woman it is much bigger than that for some that they don't understand that their actions can have that particular consequence? When for some of us it gives a moral dilemma of what to do? That for some it isn't a problem to be fixed, but a life worth saving...

@Appleblossom

Definitely @outlander

Just imagine if women were in the majority running the world!

@avant-garde @PeppyPatti @Shaz51 @outlander @Till23

My mother was very strong and dismissive of female problems or talking about anything. She made it utterly clear from early on… from when other siblings came back I was not to bother her about anything.

The girls at my religious school were dogmatic about birth control and arbortion. I just wanted to ask th questions about when a woman is not really able to care for children. Shut down and silenced again.

Women also need to work together to build trust and clarity and confidence with each other.

I struggle with trusting women but in the last few years have made better friendships with them.

thank for being part of that process.

@Appleblossom @avant-garde @outlander

Neither of my parents ever talked about women’s health. Grew up feeling it was a taboo subject and still struggle in some areas. From my mother’s perspective, heavy period was somehow my fault and couldn’t be that bad if I dared mention the amount of pain.

same as some of my female relatives I have a history of ovarian cysts and multiple surgeries to remove cyst. Never felt comfortable having to see male gynos and having, what felt like, female only discussions.

Remember being hours drive away from home one day and feeling like I had been punched near base of my spine, so scary. Following outcome of ultrasound was referred to female gyno as part of research project. More surgery and first ovarian cancer scare.

yr or 2 later and same type of back/spine pain. Long story short, in hospital surgical theatre for hysterectomy and gynos suspect cancer. 2 weeks later in hospital in different town surgery performed and multiple items sent for biopsies. Outcome 3 mths later was no cancer but severe endometriosis, both tubes almost fully blocked.