‘Pain is routine for most women' - Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball debate one of the most 'underdiscussed' aspects of being female

Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball don't shy away from important and difficult subjects during their Dig It podcast.

The pair have touched on grief, caring for elderly relatives and being the sandwich generation, alongside regular debates around menopause and HRT.

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Returning to the debate, Jo adds, "We have so much painful stuff going on whether it's periods, menopause, health checks, having babies, that you just accept and get on with it."

The presenter refers to women as being "tough," which is certainly true, but largely because there is no other choice.

A report from the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) looking at female pain, found that medical misogyny is rife for women experiencing painful reproductive health conditions.

High numbers of women are having "their symptoms ‘normalised’ and their ‘pain dismissed,’" according to the report findings.

In response, the government acknowledges the impact that reproductive health conditions and subsequent pain issues have on women’s lives, relationships, and ability to go to work.

Strategies have been proposed to improve outcomes, with the intent that women shouldn't have to become "stoic" and live with unnecessary pain as an expected part of their day-to-day lives.

Zoe and Jo's take on pain and women's issues also struck a chord with their listeners. When the segment from the podcast was posted to Instagram, many women commented to have their say.

One person said, "This is amazing! I've just been speaking to my daughter who has debilitating period pain."

"Why is there no education around pain associated with women’s health and the different ways in which it manifests itself throughout our lives?"

"There’s so much worry about what’s normal or abnormal because we’re expected to just get on with it. Thank you."

Challenging women being referred to as "tough," another person spoke out to say, "We are tough as women, BUT we shouldn’t just have to put up with a lot of it."

"We must encourage girls and women to speak out and be heard, particularly by healthcare professionals. Women’s health is so important."

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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