Our health is a sum of a myriad of factors- genetics, exercise, food, environment, economic situation, relationships. Our overall mental and physical health reflect our realities, and it’s not always easy to find the optimal balance for the utmost happiness. For women who find themselves stretched in a million different directions as it were, the pandemic has proven to be quite a stressor. It has exacerbated mental health issues, not to mention curtailed access to proper medical care for a lot of women around the world. During the second wave in the UK, ONS data suggested that women aged 16-29 are twice as likely to experience depression. Worse, perhaps is the effect it has had on the discourse around these health problems. While many important issues found themselves relegated to second-class in the face of the urgency of the pandemic, women’s health has always been a tough subject to navigate, for reasons ranging from the cultural and the political, to the stereotypical and the apathetic. The health risks of being a woman are dismissed, and many debilitating health issues are chalked up to being benign. In the UK, 84% of women feel gaslight and unheard when they visit their GP.
From teenagers and young adults, to middle aged and elderly women, here are four major health concerns among women that need to be talked about:
- Breast cancer: The most aggressive cancer affecting the global female population, with nearly 7.8 million women diagnosed globally at the end of 2020. This form of cancer is more prevalent in women from developed nations- due to extended lifespans- and more common in older women (over 40 years of age). Even then, about 5% of breast cancer patients are under 40, and certain factors (like family history, reproductive history, alcohol abuse) can increase the risk of breast cancer.
- Depression: Women are twice more likely to be diagnosed with depression, due to many biological, hormonal, and social factors. Further, certain types of depression are unique to women, and can arise during different stages of our lives- menstruation, pregnancy, postpartum, menopause- and all the niches in between.
- Osteoporosis: Osteoporosis affects bone density, leaving them more vulnerable to breaking easily. Older women are at a higher risk of developing this condition, because the hormonal changes in the level of oestrogen that take place at menopause directly affect bone density. In England and Wales, about 2 million women have osteoporosis.
- Pregnancy-related issues: Pregnancy related health concerns are immense. From developing new issues like hypertension and gestational diabetes, it can also exacerbate existing conditions that harm the health of both the mother and the unborn baby. Depression is also common amongst pregnant women, as is anxiety, and risk of developing infections. Not to mention the short-term problems, ranging from morning sickness, back pains, and cramps, and many, many more that affect the woman’s health for a considerable period of time.
As the coronavirus pandemic ravages our collective health without a complete end in sight, it’s becoming more and more important to find ways to adapt our lives to our new realities; that means re-integrating women’s health in our general discourse, and allowing ourselves, as women, to focus on our wellbeing without feeling guilty.