Millions of women and girls suffer with agonising period pain but are not taken seriously by doctors, a charity has warned.
In a survey of 3,000 women and girls, half said that their pain and symptoms including heavy bleeding were not taken seriously by medical professionals. This means that some are forced to wait 20 years for a diagnosis, with women frequently ignored and told their pain is “normal” or they will “grow out of it”.
Half of women have experienced severe heavy bleeding during periods and nine in ten have experienced mental health problems, such as depression or anxiety. Medical experts say that severe pain and heavy bleeding are normalised, even within the NHS.
Many have to wait years for a diagnosis of conditions
