Steminist blog

The Cost of Being Ignored: A Conversation on Women’s Health with Dr. Rabia Shaikh

Shreyasi Mukerji

We’ve all been there: sitting in a medical office, trying to explain that something feels fundamentally wrong, only to be met with a dismissive, "That’s just part of being a woman." We’re told it’s stress, or that we should just have kids to "fix" it. We’ve been conditioned to normalize suffering.

I sat down with Dr. Rabia Shaikh, the incredible obstetrician and fertility specialist who guided me through my own journey to motherhood, to discuss the systemic failure in women’s health. We talked about why we are still fighting for validation, the shift from "PCOS" to "PMOS," and why it’s time we stop apologizing for our pain.

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Shreyasi: You’ve been a ray of hope for so many, especially in areas where women don’t get diagnosed easily. Why do you think women’s health has historically received so little attention compared to other areas of medicine?

Dr. Shaikh: Historically, there has been significant underinvestment in research into the conditions that predominantly affect women. It's been proven in research that women's conditions get less funding, less research, less focus. As a result, our understanding of conditions such as endometriosis and PCOS has developed more slowly than it should have. These conditions are not as simple as a fever or headache or migraine—this heterogeneity in the condition itself has made it difficult to diagnose. They present in different ways, and some, like endometriosis, require invasive diagnosis. It needs funding, and it needs an ear to listen.

Shreyasi: That "ear to listen" is the problem. Many women spend years searching for a diagnosis, often blaming themselves. Why does it take so long for things like endometriosis to be recognized, even when symptoms are severe?

Dr. Shaikh: It is a sore point. Before 2005, it took about 12 years for women to be diagnosed for endometriosis, and now, since 2012, it is still taking healthcare professionals about five to seven years. There are a number of reasons: the disease itself can overlap with bowel or bladder conditions, and there is evidence in research that women's pain has historically been less likely to be believed, investigated, or treated properly. Women may be told that severe period pain is normal or that their symptoms are exaggerated or psychological. So, over time, women can even begin to normalize their own symptoms and delay seeking further help. They only find out when it’s too late or when the fertility window is out of their control.

Shreyasi: You see the trauma of that self-blame every day. How do you help your patients separate the condition from their own self-doubt?

Dr. Shaikh: If I offer them a keyhole surgery—a laparoscopy—to diagnose endometriosis, when we find the disease, they feel really relieved. It is incredibly validating. They’ll say, "Oh, so I’m not making it up, doctor. So I’m not crazy, doctor." And I say, "No, my dear, you’re not. You have got this disease." When they come to see me after a month or two, they say, "Oh my god, my periods are feeling normal. I don't feel as tired," because endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease which makes you feel lethargic. Education is very important. Helping women understand their condition can reduce their self-doubt and allow them to feel more confident in making decisions about their care.

Shreyasi: If there is one misconception you could erase—for both patients and doctors—what would it be?

Dr. Shaikh: The one misconception is that the pain is simply a normal part of being a woman. I want to erase this. If a woman goes to a healthcare professional and they say, "Oh, that’s normal, go home or get married, you’ll be fine, get children, you’ll be okay"—that needs to stop. Some discomfort with menstruation can be normal, but severe or debilitating pain is not something women should be expected to tolerate. If pain is interfering with their work, their relationship, or their everyday life, it deserves to be taken seriously and investigated.

Shreyasi: What do you feel like would have the biggest impact on women’s lives if you could change something in the healthcare system?

Dr. Shaikh: I would like to see greater investment in research specifically focused on women's health. Historically, women have been under-represented in both clinical and pre-clinical research and we are still dealing with some of the knowledge gaps that has created. Greater investment with women properly represented in research would give health care professionals better evidence to work from and ultimately lead to early diagnosis and better treatment. But to do that we really need to get more awareness in women. We need to educate women and we need to work with women to be able to identify the problem and then solve it.

Shreyasi: Looking ahead, what gives you hope for the future?

Dr. Shaikh: The amount of awareness we are now seeing. PCOS has been changed to PMOS because they have been doing more research rather than labeling young girls as "PCOS sufferers" quietly. Education and social media have a big role; they’ve brought these conversations into the public eye, and importantly, policy makers are listening. The more these issues are brought into the spotlight, the more momentum there is for research, earlier diagnosis, better treatment, and hopefully, prevention. If endometriosis is dealt with earlier, we might have better outcomes for fertility and for women to have good, productive lives.

Shreyasi: Finally, as an expert in your field, what would be your message for younger OBGYNs just entering this field?

Dr. Shaikh: I think the most important thing as a doctor as a healthcare provider is that we need to listen to the patient rather than have our preconceived ideas that this is normal or that is not normal. We need to give them time to understand what they're trying to tell us and we need to explain to them that what could be their problem. And then trying to offer them evidence-based medicine and always understand that not every patient has got same symptoms, same diagnosis. So, as a health care professional I give a lot of time to my patients in terms of listening to them, asking questions, and then we make a plan together.

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A final note from me: If you’re currently fighting to be heard, keep pushing. Your pain is real, your experience is valid, and you are not "imagining" it. A huge thank you to Dr. Shaikh for not only changing my life but for standing up to fix a broken system.