How a new period checker could stop millions from ‘suffering in silence’
A charity has launched a new period symptom checker to help women and girls understand their menstrual cycle in more depth, as one of the UK’s top women’s health doctors warns women are "suffering in silence" with menstrual problems.
Wellbeing of Women’s period checker asks users various questions about health and reproductive symptoms and takes only four minutes to complete. At the end, it drafts a letter for women to give to their GP in order to open up discussions about their symptoms.
The charity said that many women are "putting up with" debilitating pain and heavy bleeding, with those suffering from period problems waiting an average of two years before seeking help.
In 2023, a survey of 3,000 women and girls for Wellbeing of Women found that 96% experienced period pain, with 59% describing their pain as severe. A huge majority (91%) said they experienced heavy periods, with nearly half (49%) saying their bleeding was severe.
Despite their symptoms, the survey found that women and girls are often dismissed as "just having a period", with 51% saying they felt their doctors failed to take their pain seriously.
But severe pain and heavy bleeding, as well as irregular cycles, may be a sign of conditions such as endometriosis, adenomyosis, and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).
The new tool comes after the Women and Equalities Committee of MPs published a report in December concluding that many girls are leaving school without knowing what a "normal" period looks like.
The report added that the prevalence of "medical misogyny" is leading to women living with unnecessary pain for years. The MPs suggested there is a lack of medical research, treatment options and specialists, adding that the "de-prioritisation" of gynaecological care have led to waiting lists have grown faster than any other speciality.
Professor Dame Lesley Regan, a leading gynaecologist and chairwoman of Wellbeing of Women, said: "It is shocking that women are still suffering severe period pain and heavy bleeding in silence.
"A variety of medical treatments could be offered to girls and women with these distressing conditions. We hope that our new Period Symptom Checker will encourage women to speak up and seek help for their period problems.
"It aims to promote better engagement with GPs and other community healthcare professionals by creating a letter that outlines how their symptoms are affecting their everyday lives."
Watch: "I was told I had period pain - it was endometriosis, two uteruses and cervixes"
The charity also commissioned a poll, conducted by Censuswide, that found only one in 10 women can identify all the signs of heavy menstrual bleeding.
It called for better education about menstrual health and said this is urgent to encourage women to seek treatment, whether through an appointment with their GP or community healthcare professional, or by taking better care of themselves.
Dr Michael Mulholland, honorary secretary at the Royal College of GPs (RCGP), said: "It’s never easy to hear when any patient reports not feeling as though they have been listened to.
"We want all women to feel confident about turning to their GP for timely and appropriate care.
"Women’s health is a key part of the RCGP curriculum that all GPs in training must demonstrate competence of before they are able to practise independently as a GP, and we will continue to support initiatives like Wellbeing of Women’s Period Symptom Checker to raise awareness and challenge the normalisation of period problems."
Additional reporting by PA
Read more about women's health:
How do period-tracking apps work, and should you use them for fertility? (Yahoo Life UK, 6-min read)
'Medical misogyny' means women endure years of gynaecological pain, new report says (Sky News, 3-min read)
More than a million women keep period sick days a secret (Yahoo Life UK, 6-min read)
