Week 10: The General Gynecology Problem
Women make up 51% of the population. Despite that statistic, there are many serious problems with gynecology. Unfortunately, one of those issues continues to be sexual assault with male gynecologists. 18 percent of gynecologists are men, and oftentimes there is one in every office. Many are just fine and have never committed or have even thought about sexual assault. But the position of gynecologist puts some men in a position where they are able to take advantage of their female patient. A 2017 study of 101 recent physician sex-abuse cases showed that almost 13 percent were caused by male ob-gyns. Because of the nature of gynecology, being able to tell that one was sexual assaulted with a gyno can be incredibly difficult, especially with a younger patient. For this reason, sexual assault numbers in gynecology are only filed if there is a lawsuit, so likely the number of sex-abuse cases perpetrated by gynecologists is much larger. Dr. Tyndell from the University of Southern California was the university gynecologist for almost thirty years and likely sexual assaulted over eight hundred women, with seven hundred individually filing lawsuits against him and a joint case made of sixteen women. His case is very similar to Larry Nassar, who sexual assaulted women in a similar fashion. Colleges questioned Tyndells methods, finding them unusual and potentially predatorial. Students testify he un-consentingly watched his patients undressed and violated them without gloves, which are required by the CDC. Larry Nassar also participated in this. There are many more cases like this, but because of the nature of gynecology, it can be difficult to tell where the line is and bring a case to court. Unfortunately, many types of assault can be explained away in court and in the office, which causes a fear of speaking out. There is already a credibly issue, as male doctors often do not fully believe women, and male gynecologists use this to their advantage.
There are also various issues with epidurals. In more recent times the issues with epidurals have started to settle down. The last pockets of natural related birth bias such as the scandal at Morecambe Bay in London have started to have been filled in, and there are not as many horror stories as before. However, there are still issues with the epidural system. There are still many debates occurring about when an epidural should be given. According to Dr. David Boogard of the Royal Colledge of Anesthetists says “The national standard is that a woman should be given an epidural within 30 minutes of asking for one and must be given it within an hour. That’s an entirely achievable target in most units.” There are ongoing debates about when an epidural is appropriate, but there is a worldwide lack of information on epidurals. Women are routinely not given enough information about epidurals, especially in understaffed hospitals. Not receiving an epidural when one is needed can cause complications with birth. In some cases, a woman is screaming for an epidural and is assured she is on pain medication, when in reality it may be diluted or absent. This happened to Anushya Hossain, who was not properly given an epidural and in turn required an emergency C-Section. In another C-Section, Lauren from PA, aged 35, needed her male anesthesiologist to up her pain meds. Instead, he turned to her husband and told her that all she was feeling was pressure, despite Lauren screaming in pain. It took a female doctor intervening and forcing Laurens male anesthesiologist to up the pain meds for Lauren to get proper care.
And the largest problem to women's reproductive rights has just recently occurred. Roe V. Wade had been an essential part to protecting women's rights to abortion for 45 years. With it women had the right to abortion in the first trimester and the government could only restrict abortion in the second. Previously abortions were entirely illegal in many states or were so restrictive to essentially be illegal. Roe V. Wade overturned those laws, and women had freer access to safe abortion. On July 24th of 2022, Roe V. Wade was overturned. Many states have reinstated ant-abortion laws, some going so far as to stating an abortion will be illegal after six weeks. This means that a women can only miss one period before an abortion is illegal, and it is nearly impossible to tell that someone is pregnant before then. This is horrible for women, and is a unimaginable backwards obstacle that women now have to face. Illegal abortions will likely spike, and we are watching in real time how the overturning of Roe V. Wade will affect us in the future.
sources:
The Awful Way Gynos Are Betraying Their Patients (cosmopolitan.com)
Women's pain often is dismissed by doctors - Washington Post
Roe v Wade Overturned: What It Means, What’s Next | American University, Washington, D.C.
What are the top three things you think must be addressed in the filed of gynecology right now?
ReplyDelete