Modern medicine continues to neglect women’s health

In other words, women – mostly working-class women – are dying, and misogynistic medical research and negligence is largely to blame.

Many have been taking to social media to express their frustration towards this, sharing their own negative experiences when seeking help for medical issues, or to state more matter-of-factly that this blatant gap in women’s healthcare needs addressing immediately.

Yet despite how this has given women a public platform to speak out, there continues to persist an ignorance around the gravity and complexity of women’s health.

Especially if the problems they face can be solved at base level, which satisfies men (so they can have sex with a woman without producing a child that she’ll then have to carry) and doesn’t cost the medical industry very much at all.

@h0listichannnah The lead in the tampons is an issue yall. #fertilitynutrition #functionalnutrition #naturalskinremedies #naturopathicmedicine #naturalfemininecare ♬ original sound – h0listichannah

IUDs and the medical-industrial complex

Take, for example, IUDs.

I’ve certainly had my fair share of discomfort (both physical and hormonal) from various forms of contraception, including the intrauterine device, and that was after the painful insertion process.

Of course, you’d be wise to take many of the horror stories you read online about the IUD in particular with a pinch of salt and many people do have positive experiences with it eventually (which is less talked about because what’s exciting about a seamless insertion and joyfully regulated periods).

But sensationalist scare-mongering aside, the IUD is also evidence of how minimal advances have been in women’s health.

Most notably if we look back to the Dalkon Shield, the first (and arguably the worst) IUD ever invented in the 1970s – by a man, obviously.

This objectively terrifying device was marketed as a ‘first-choice’ contraceptive method, despite causing high numbers of inflammatory pelvic infection, uterine perforations, spontaneous septic abortions, and in some cases even death.

A large culprit in all of this is the Medical-Industrial Complex, which affects all genders living in a capitalist world. The term was derived from the idea of the Military-Industrial Complex, which justifies using public funds for defence weaponry under the utilitarian guise of protecting public safety.

In a similar vein, the Medical-Industrial Complex encompasses a profit-first relationship between big pharma companies or medical conglomerates and healthcare related services.

Thanks to the underfunding of the NHS in the UK, and the ridiculously high expense of medical care in other Western nations such as the US, many people are having their symptoms dismissed or their conditions overlooked, as the industry has neither the time nor the money to pay proper attention to what hurts.

@drsermedmezher Medicine Has Failed Women #endometriosis. Throughout history, medicine has often treated women worse than men, manifesting in various forms of discrimination, neglect, and disparities in healthcare. While strides have been made towards gender equality in medicine, significant challenges and inequities persist, reflecting deep-rooted biases and systemic barriers that have historically marginalized women’s health. Here are some ways in which medicine has treated women worse than men: Underrepresentation in Research: Historically, women have been underrepresented in clinical trials and medical research, leading to a lack of understanding of how diseases manifest differently in women compared to men. This gender bias has resulted in diagnostic and treatment protocols that may not be as effective or appropriate for women, potentially leading to misdiagnosis, inadequate treatment, and poorer health outcomes. Dismissal of Symptoms: Women’s health concerns have often been dismissed or trivialized by healthcare providers, leading to delays in diagnosis and treatment. Conditions such as endometriosis, fibromyalgia, and autoimmune diseases are frequently misdiagnosed or overlooked in women due to biases about gender-specific symptoms and pain perception. Stigma Surrounding Reproductive Health: Women’s reproductive health, including menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause, has been stigmatized and marginalized within the medical community. Issues such as menstrual pain, postpartum depression, and menopausal symptoms are often downplayed or dismissed as “normal” experiences, leading to inadequate support and treatment options for women. Inadequate Pain Management: Studies have shown that women are less likely to receive adequate pain management compared to men, leading to disparities in pain treatment and outcomes. Women’s pain is often attributed to psychological factors or dismissed as exaggerated, resulting in undertreatment and unnecessary suffering. Inequities in Cardiovascular Health: Heart disease, a leading cause of death worldwide, has historically been viewed as a “man’s disease,” leading to underdiagnosis and undertreatment in women. Women’s symptoms of heart disease may differ from men’s and be less recognized by healthcare providers, leading to delays in diagnosis and poorer outcomes. #health #gender ♬ original sound – DrSermedMezher

Confronting the gender health gap

This leads me to question: why is it that women are expected to undergo certain procedures and bear the pain of female health standards?

And if people who are able to give birth are so integral to life, why is it that these same people aren’t being listened to or taken seriously when something is wrong?

Even beyond this people-over-profit mode of thinking, research suggests that by reducing the number of early deaths and health conditions women experience as a result of medical negligence, women’s ability to contribute more to society could boost the global economy by $1 trillion by 2040.

In order to address the gender health gap, we must demand to know how many more women have to die from medical negligence before our bodies are treated as worthy of medical care and attention as men’s.