'We are being dismissed' Living with the painful experience of 'medical misogyny'

Women and girls in the UK with gynaecological conditions such as endometriosis and adenomyosis have spent years in pain owing to "medical misogyny", according to a parliamentary report.

- Rachel Obordo, Tobi Thomas

The women and equalities committee report found women with reproductive conditions faced inadequate care because of a "pervasive stigma" and symptoms being "normalised" by healthcare professionals. The report follows an inquiry that heard from women including the BBC presenter Naga Munchetty and the reality TV star Vicky Pattison. Here, three people share their experiences of being diagnosed and treated for their gynaecological pain.

'I feel part of my life has been wasted by the ignorance and misogynistic attitudes of doctors'

In Yorkshire, retiree Shirley, 72, remembers her pain starting when she was 27, after the birth of her two daughters. She always had heavy periods as a teenager but when she was older the pain got so bad she would end up on her knees.

When she tried to get a diagnosis she felt she was ignored. "It was horrendous and it was as if the health professionals didn't want to know. I went from doctor to doctor and felt I was treated like a child. I was made to think the pain was all in my head and that I was going mad - I was even prescribed antidepressants," Shirley says.

She gave up for a while and managed by taking painkillers every day, using hot water bottles and taking hot baths. "Sex was painful and every day was a slog." About 15 years later she had two laparoscopies and, after the second one, she was diagnosed with endometriosis and fitted with a coil. Looking back on her own experience she worries about young women today.