Women’s health: the good, the bad and the ugly

By Ellie Liverani

eli.liverani.ra@gmail.com

I remember when I was young, probably 11 years ago. One morning I was not feeling well because of my period. After I got ready to go to school, I went back to bed and it was hard to get up because the pain was strong. However, my mum insisted that I got up and went to school.

My mum — a very loving and caring person, a tough cookie indeed — never sent me to school with a fever, or the flu or a stomachache. In fact, she would keep me at home an extra day to ensure I was fully recovered when I got back to a regular schedule. But somehow, my period was different.

That morning, she clearly said, ‘I won’t let you stay home anytime you have your period.’ Meaning, you need to learn how to function through this pain. Over the years, I never stayed home from work if I was in pain during my period. I mastered how to handle these pains. I did not get a medal nor recognition of any sort, but it felt the right thing to do

I am not alone: all women power through these pains and more: our period, pregnancy, labor and menopause. We often do not complain, take days off or claim discounts. It is some ”feature” we are born with and we have to push through it. Accept and cope. They face us with a contradiction: women cope with real acute pain in almost every stage of their lives, yet we keep performing — and out-performing at times. Yet, we are weak, often not trusted physically and emotionally.”

Medicine makes cautious steps towards these physiological situations. Because nobody feels like experimenting on pregnant women, studies are scarce. As a result, we do not have many tools and pregnant women are left alone. Often, we prefer them not to take anything, just to be safe. Epidurals and C-sections are still considered emergencies in childbirth. If not, everybody thinks of them as luxuries, rather than required help. By “everybody" I do not mean people in general: most of these comments come from other women.

Other situations, like your period or menopause, remain taboo topics that we do not even mention. The major knowledge we obtain is from the other women of our family. And the advice is all about coping. There are drugs provided, mostly painkillers, that you can take if the pains get unbearable. There are alternative therapies, drinking more water, massages. A day off or even a few hours is not even considered and so asking for help is not mentioned.

Recently, I have seen an inspiring documentary about the “Women’s Day Dff” in Iceland in 1975. Almost 90% of women went on strike on October 24: they refused to do anything they did for just one day. It was hard to cope without women and it proved a point, but nothing really bad also happened. Women are an important part of our society, but what is so controversial about taking a few hours off for a day, if needed? I honestly believe that we (women) are so trained to push through that we do not think we need it.

These pains that should naturally bring us together either get ignored or divide us. I can cope with my period so should you. Why can’t we stop without fear that our career will be over? That we will be judged? We are allowed to stay home for a cold, for a migraine, for high fever, but the moment it is for menopause or your period, then it is not okay. It is probably not feasible to stay home a couple of days per month, or for the whole perimenopause (which could last several years), but maybe having a few days off or delegating some responsibilities could boost productivity the other days and be beneficial in the long run.

So why is it so controversial?

Dr. Liverani is an assistant professor at the NDSU School of Pharmacy.