[BBC] Doctors dismissed these women as hysterical. Now they're fighting back.| Women going to their doctor complaining of symptoms are dismissed as hysterical or depressed, and so are misdiagnosed. Men, on the other hand, ignore problems until they’ve become too blatant to be misdiagnosed, when more expensive and heroic measures are needed. Neither is ideal. |
It wasn’t saying goodbye to her husband and newborn before being wheeled into an operating theatre, or the heart attack she thought she was having as she lay there on the table.
It was when a male obstetrician “ripped the placenta” out of her body, without word or warning.
A nurse, Ms Metcalf knows the intervention - while immensely painful - was necessary. She couldn't push it out naturally, which was causing potentially fatal bleeding.
But she hadn’t “seen or met this man before”, and she can’t get past the fact that her consent, during one of the most traumatic experiences of her life, “meant so little”.
“It felt like a violation - I needed to feel involved in what was happening to my body,and not just like a bystander.”
Ms Metcalf is one of thousands of Australian women who have come forward to tell their stories, after the federal government assembled a team of experts to tackle what it calls “medical misogyny”.
So far, they have uncovered that a staggering two-thirds of females nationwide have encountered gender bias or discrimination in healthcare.
And many say it is taking place when they're at their most vulnerable, such as during intimate examinations, or like Ms Metcalf, while in labour. Others report having their pain dismissed or dangerously misdiagnosed.
The BBC spoke to six women for this piece. They shared experiences of being called “anxious”, “pushy” or even “hysterical” while seeking treatment for a range of debilitating symptoms.
They also said they felt that the men in their lives seemed to consistently have their pain taken more seriously.
'I JUST DON'T FEEL SAFE'
Nadiah Akbar was once told by a doctor in Singapore that the extreme fatigue she was experiencing was due to the “stress” of being a busy mother. Tests would later show it was thyroid cancer.
Years later, in remission and having migrated to Australia, staff at a Melbourne hospital failed to diagnose a cartilage tear in her hip socket and a slipped disk in her back.
Instead, they suggested the crippling pain could be linked to “depression” or being “overtired”. It led to Ms Akbar paying for two costly MRI scans out of pocket to be taken seriously.
“‘Oh, it’s nothing.’ I’ve heard that statement so many times... It’s really disheartening as a human being to keep hearing that,” she says.
“It takes a lot of energy for you to keep advocating for yourself, and that’s the part that’s worrying - a lot of people just stop.”
Laura - who asked to have her name changed - is close to that point, after years of having symtoms of what would eventually be confirmed as a traumatic brain injury dismissed.
“I don’t get healthcare without my partner with me, that’s a blanket rule,” she says, explaining that she feels her concerns are taken “more seriously” when voiced by a man.
“I just don't feel safe, engaging with the system, because when you're young and you're told over and over that something is all in your head, it's easy to believe it.”
Like so many others across the country, both women say they’re coming forward to share their experiences to seize on this moment of promised change.
Assistant health minister Ged Kearney - who chairs the national council tasked with examining these issues - says that their stories, along with those of countless others facing additional disadvantage in First Nations, LGBTQ+, and migrant communities will guide its work.
Her team's remit is vast and broad areas of focus have already emerged.
But untangling gender inequity in medicine is no small task, and Australia’s attempts could have far-reaching implications as other nations eye reforms.