Women and doctors still shy away from discussing menstrual issues, say gynaecologist

Almost 80 per cent of a gyanecologist’s work is related to menstrual issues of women, which start at the age of 11 or 12 and end at around 52.

Gynaecologist Dr Tahira Kazmi said this as she spoke at a dialogue arranged by the Uks Research Centre on ‘Gynae Feminism: Conversation on Womens’s Health and Self Care’, on Tuesday as part of their International Women’s Day celebrations.

Most of the cancers in women, she said, were because of menopause. Women from the age of 12 till their later ages, she said, thronged the gynae clinics. Management of menopause, she said, needed to be tailored for every woman, according to the complaints of that women.

She said she initiated her gynae-feminism concept because of menstrual issues of women.

She added that when she started writing blogs on menstrual issues, she faced extreme criticism. “Not for once I thought I will face any difficulty in writing on menstrual issues,” she said. “But after the first blog I faced extreme reaction.”

However, she said the more reaction came against her, the more she kept on writing on the issue.

Speaking on her experiences, she said she had encountered a girl from interior Punjab who used leaves during her periods.

As for cervical and breast cancer, she said women should follow a few things religiously. After 50 years of age, she said, women should get mammography done every year, or someone with a family history of breast cancer should start this screening after 40 years of age.

“Follow such screenings as you follow some religious rituals,” she said, adding that for cervix cancer screening, there was a test known as Pap Smear, which needed to be done at an early age and should be repeated after every three years.

As for the uterus cancer, she said that after the age of 40 years, if women experienced irregularity in their periods, they should immediately go for an ultrasound and then biopsy. There are three things, she stressed that women should memorise: Pap smear, mammography and transvaginal scan.

“Irregular periods are signs that there is something wrong with a woman’s body,” she explained. Even in metropolitan cities, she said women shied away from going to hospitals.

In hospitals, she said, doctors did not resort to proper counselling and rather shied away from talking in detail.

She said the pregnant women should ask their gynaecologist their estimated date of delivery. The total weeks of pregnancy are 40, she said, adding that globally, the pregnancies were counted in weeks, not months.