Millions of women and girls in the UK are suffering from period problems such as severe pain and heavy bleeding, yet more than half feel their symptoms are often not taken seriously by medical professionals, their families or their workplace.
The survey of 3,000 women and girls, commissioned by the charity Wellbeing of Women, found that almost all those aged between 16-40 had experienced period pain (96%), with 59% saying their period pain was severe.
The charity has launched a campaign, ‘Just a period’, to address what it has called “the unacceptable normalisation” of period symptoms and gynaecological conditions.
More than nine in 10 had experienced some heavy periods (91%), with almost half (49%) saying their heavy bleeding was severe, the survey concluded.
Only 14% had tried medication to reduce heavy bleeding, despite treatment such as tranexamic acid being shown to reduce period blood loss by as much as 54%, the charity said.
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More than half (56%) said they found it difficult to access treatment and support. A similar percentage (51%) felt their healthcare professional had failed to take their period concerns seriously.
Of the 58% who sought help from a healthcare professional, 42% were given treatment to help manage their period symptoms, 16% received a diagnosis, 39% were given information or advice on how to manage their symptoms, and 25% received an explanation for their symptoms.
More than half (56%) of women and girls also felt their family did not take them seriously in relation to their period.
Most worrying from the occupational health perspective, almost half (47%) felt their workplace did not take them seriously, and more than half (56%) said they had experienced problems at work in relation to their period.
This finding has been echoed by a survey by Instaprint which has found that nearly a third of women (31%) believe menopause or menstruation negatively affects their work.
Almost a fifth believed their employer does not support menopause or menstruation at all, with only a quarter (27%) saying their employer offered free sanitary products.
Nearly half (48%) said they had gone “to great lengths” to conceal or hide sanitary products from colleagues to take to the toilet. A fifth (21%) said they did not feel comfortable talking to anybody at all about menopause or menstruation.
The Wellbeing of Women survey has also emphasised the knock-on impact period pain and bleeding can have on mental and emotional health.
Nearly nine in 10 (86%) of the women and girls polled said they had experienced mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety and mood changes, in relation to their period. More than four in 10 (41%) said they had experienced severe mental health problems.
More than four out of five (83%) agreed there needed to be more accurate, easily accessible information on periods and gynaecological conditions.
Professor Dame Lesley Regan, chair of Wellbeing of Women, said: “Women and girls have been dismissed for far too long. It’s simply unacceptable that anyone is expected to suffer with period symptoms that disrupt their lives, including taking time off school, work, or their caring responsibilities, all of which may result in avoidable mental health problems.”
Separately, a survey by online parenting forum Mumsnet has concluded that women are being “failed at every stage” when it comes to maternity care, with more care and support needed in particular for those who experience traumatic births.
Mumsnet found 79% of the 1,000 women polled had experienced some form of birth trauma, with 53% saying it had put them off from having more children.
More than four out of 10 (44%) also said healthcare professionals had used language implying they were “a failure or to blame” for what happened.
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