Female reproductive disorders being underresearched is a significant issue, as they have often gone undiagnosed and barely any treatments have developed, according to an article from the National Library of Medicine.
Endometriosis and polycystic ovarian disorder (PCOS) are diseases that can both be diagnosed in adolescence, although they only occur in 10% of women, according to the National Library of Medicine. While symptoms may vary, both diseases can create menstrual problems and infertility, according to an article from Atlantic Health.
However, the greater concern is that both of these disorders can cause problems outside reproduction. For instance, symptoms of endometriosis include problems such as constipation and pelvic pain, according to an article by the Cleveland Clinic. PCOS also increases the risk of type 2 diabetes and depression, according to an article about PCOS from NHS Inform. While it may be uncomfortable to talk about, these health concerns warrant more awareness brought to these diseases.
Currently, there is no cure for these disorders, but there are some treatments. A common one for both is birth control pills, which are required to be taken for three months according to an article by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. This demonstrates another problem: women with reproductive disorders who want children are being overlooked. Women with PCOS often have kids at a later age than women without PCOS, according to a study conducted by Science Direct.
Another treatment for endometriosis is getting a hysterectomy, a procedure where the uterus is removed. While this prevents further growth of uterine tissue, it can also create various kinds of pain afterwards, like ovarian pain, bowel pain, and burning pain in the bladder, according to Pelvic Rehabilitation Medicine. This should indicate that more awareness about this issue must be raised.
This issue can be attributed to a bigger one: the distribution of research funding. Only 5% of global research funding is given to women’s health research, with a majority going towards women’s cancers, according to an article from nature.com. This horrifyingly implies that women’s diseases aren’t being acknowledged until they kill them. Not to mention, the tiny percentage shows that people fail to acknowledge that disorders that hurt a person’s well-being is a disorder that needs research to find treatment. There needs to be a better distribution of funding towards female disorder research to find new, different treatments.
Female reproductive diseases being repeatedly overlooked is a major problem that shockingly nobody is talking about. The pain from these disorders and lack of treatments is concerning, which proves that more medical research funding needs to be allocated to this topic. Hopefully, when people realize the significance of these disorders, future generations of women won’t have to suffer the pain these conditions bring.
