ENDOMETRIOSIS, menopause, menstrual pain, pelvic floor weakness, premature egg failure, miscarriage鈥� the list of poorly studied 鈥渨omen鈥檚 problems鈥� goes on. Now let鈥檚 add another: postnatal anxiety.
Of course, when you are caring for a newborn child, it is normal to feel anxious. But as we discover in our feature 鈥淲hy do people get postnatal anxiety and how can we treat it?鈥�, for one in five mothers, this can develop into acute, long-term anxiety, which can lead to depression, insomnia and physical illness. Despite this, researchers are only just beginning to realise the extent of its prevalence and investigate potential causes and possible treatments. Unfortunately, this early research hasn鈥檛 yet trickled down into the real world, with many doctors still unaware of the condition.
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This is yet another example of the vast gaps in our knowledge of women鈥檚 health. It isn鈥檛 a new problem. Half the population has been underserved in medicine for a long time 鈥� recall the menopause trial in the 1960s that included 8341 men and no women, for instance. Or the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, which featured only men in its first two decades.
We have moved on from such absurdities, of course, yet it was only in 2016 that the US National Institutes of Health mandated that studies it funds must include female animals. And , childbirth and female reproductive conditions, despite one in three women reporting a gynaecological or reproductive health problem in their lifetime.
Thankfully, we are moving in the right direction. Last year, the . This 10-year project aims to improve health experiences and outcomes for women. In November, , an effort aiming to pioneer new discoveries in this sphere. More such programmes are needed. Sidelining of women鈥檚 health is a problem 鈥� let鈥檚 make solving it a priority.
