‘I tried to push through the embarrassment and taboo’ – Ashley James shares her experience of being silenced about female health issues

Ashley James at the UK Premiere of WICKED, held at the Royal Festival Hall, London — (Image credit: Justin Goff Photos/Getty Images)

Broadcaster Ashley James has shared her experience of feeling ignored when seeking help for female health issues, speaking out to try and prevent other women having to also suffer in silence.

The 38-year-old mother of two appeared on Fearne Cotton's Happy Place podcast to talk about what happened when her intimate postpartum problems were dismissed.

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Sadly, this is an experience that is all too common for so many women. Ashley tells Fearne, "I tried to push through all of the embarrassment and taboo so that it hopefully helps other people, so they don't have to be in pain."

She hopes that speaking out will help other women "not have to put up with piles and prolapse," and other intimate female health issues, and to demand the care they deserve.

Ashley alludes to women also being delivered constant messages about their bodies "bouncing back" after giving birth and how detrimental this can be.

She shares, "All this talk of 'bounce back' culture, all I wanted to do was bounce back in, and there's a whole host of other issues that not all women get but a lot of women experience, and we just don't talk about it."

Fearne also wanted to add discussion of piles to their chat, as another painful issue that doesn't get enough attention.

"Piles are the worst pain ever," she says, adding, "One of the most painful things of all time."

Ashley agrees, explaining that she'll always be open about her postpartum recovery, "whether it's faecal incontinence or incontinence," because there's too much "shame and stigma" surrounding these debilitating issues.

"It's really isolating, and I think it actually does a disservice to women, because we are made to feel like we shouldn't talk about it," she explains, concluding, "We therefore don't push for better care."

Lucy is a multi-award nominated writer and blogger with seven years’ experience writing about entertainment, parenting and family life. Lucy worked as a freelance writer and journalist at the likes of PS and moms.com, before joining GoodtoKnow as an entertainment writer, and then as news editor. The pull to return to the world of television was strong, and she was delighted to take a position at woman&home to once again watch the best shows out there, and tell you why you should watch them too.

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