From Patient to Partner
Advocating for the care you need and deserve
In order to understand why knowing your body and using your voice to get the care you need in the current medical system is important, we have to take a step back in time.
Our current medical system developed over centuries in a patriarchal society. Therefore, the male body was treated as the default human in medicine.
It wasn’t until the mid-19th century that women were permitted to enter the medical profession. Medical textbooks, however, still presented male anatomy as the generic human body, while women appeared mostly in reproductive context.
While advances in medicine continued, women were underrepresented or even excluded in important areas of medical research and drug development. This was largely because of the complexity of hormonal fluctuations, possible pregnancy and the higher cost to conduct research accounting for these variables. It was not until 1993, when the NIH (National Institute for Health) Revitalization Act made the inclusion of women and minorities in NIH-funded clinical research a requirement.
The cost of designing research around the female anatomy and physiology may be high, yet the cost for women and their health has been even higher and is reflected in:
A Diagnostic lag – Women face an average diagnostic delay of 2.5 to 4 years compared to men for conditions like autoimmune diseases, autism, ADHD and heart disease.
Sexist stereotypes in medical care – Heart Attacks, for example, can present with different symptoms in women, such as extreme fatigue, jaw pain and digestive conditions. This can easily lead to misdiagnosis and delayed treatment and ultimately in a higher death rate.