Vafapour, P., & Murray, E. (2023). Exploring the lived experiences of debilitating period pain management in the UK. British Journal of Pain, 17(4), 408-419. https://doi.org/10.1177/20494637231172674
Vafapour P, Murray E. Exploring the lived experiences of debilitating period pain management in the UK. Br J Pain. 2023;17(4):408-419. doi:10.1177/20494637231172674
Vafapour, Parmis, and Esther Murray. "Exploring the lived experiences of debilitating period pain management in the UK." British Journal of Pain, vol. 17, no. 4, 2023, pp. 408-419.
Eight UK women with debilitating period pain rarely felt believed
Interviews with eight UK women aged 20–28 who had painful periods (dysmenorrhea) found that being believed and validated about their pain was a rare experience for these women. The authors report that family, friends and culture influenced when these women sought care. Views of their own bodies influenced the pain treatment each chose.
Key Findings
The authors interviewed 8 women aged 20–28 and analyzed the accounts with interpretative phenomenological analysis, sorting themes into the physical, social and political body.
Participants described period pain with vomiting and headaches and often canceled commitments. A majority came to accept the pain as normal, which the authors say may have delayed seeking help.
The authors link open family talk about periods to earlier visits, as with one woman referred as a teenager. For most participants, a friend's surprise prompted the move toward a clinician.
Some women chose pain relief or natural remedies over hormonal contraception; quoted reasons included side effects and losing the period. One woman using contraception worried about future fertility.
Participants described disempowering visits when they did not feel believed, and some called the transvaginal ultrasound traumatic. Those who paid for private care described it as more seamless than NHS care.
Interpretation
The study used interpretative phenomenological analysis, a qualitative method that records how people understand their own experience. Eight women aged 20–28 joined after a social media and text message call. The interviews describe views of care, and the paper reports frequencies only in words such as "most" and "a majority". The authors name the small sample as a limitation. One woman doubted her polycystic ovarian syndrome diagnosis because it was made without imaging.
RRM Context
Restorative reproductive medicine treats the ovulatory cycle as a vital sign and looks for the cause of dysmenorrhea, such as endometriosis. Some participants voiced a similar wish: a cause for the pain and a treatment that kept the period. The paper notes that contraceptive options often come with the cessation of periods.
Our editorial summary of this paper, not the article's abstract.
Abstract
Background
Five to ten percent of women experience period pains that disrupt their lives yet 4 in 5 women believe that their claims for their dysmenorrhea are not taken seriously. Within the process of seeking support and understanding about their pain, they face various barriers that prevent them from finding the answers they deserve.
Methods
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 8 women aged 20-28 to discuss their experiences with dysmenorrhea throughout their time since menarche.
Results
Using Scheper-Hughes and Lock understanding of the mindful body, this research explores women's experiences of dysmenorrhea through their physical body (relationship with the body and needing control), the social body (cultural concepts and comparisons to others) and the body politic (medicalisation, the medical team and the transvaginal ultrasound).
Conclusions
The impact of these aspects of their mindful bodies developed arguments showing how different actors had an impact on preventing them obtaining the patient-centred care they required without resistance. More must be done to honour the experience of pain women have regarding their periods, especially by healthcare professionals. There must be consistency in the way women are approached for their dysmenorrhea to prevent discrepancies of support. This must be done with clearer guidance on what is offered to women with dysmenorrhea, especially in the primary care setting.
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