14
-min read

History of women's health

Why women’s health is so under-funded and under-researched – history to the present day

Published on
22 Feb
2024

The conversation on women’s health has gained momentum in recent years, with the launch of prime-time TV shows about menopause and books on topics from pelvic health and postpartum mental health to menstruation and birthrights. So what’s all this talk about women’s health being underfunded and under-researched about?

A quick snapshot paints a pretty clear picture. Despite women making up the majority of chronic pain sufferers, doctors are more likely to refer us for talking therapy or prescribe sedatives or antidepressants instead of prescribing much-needed pain relief medication. Generally speaking, while women have a longer life expectancy than men, we spend a greater portion of our lives in poor health. As an illustrative example, in the UK it takes, on average, 7.5 years to get a diagnosis of endometriosis, a gynaecological condition affecting around 2-10% of women.

It’s clear that women’s health is lagging behind, but how did we get here?

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