International Women's Day 2023: It's time to change the conversation around PCOS in India

A couple had been dating for four years until the girl’s polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) was discovered just before the engagement. She inadvertently informed her fiancé, who unknowingly informed his mother. The mother decided against the wedding altogether, as PCOS is equated to infertility in Indian society. More often than not, even among educated urban families, let alone the marginal population, PCOS is addressed in this manner. Since PCOS affects women of reproductive age, it is evident that PCOS is currently a bigger pandemic in our country than even diabetes. Certain medical conditions have the power to alter your life! Any medical issues associated with infertility in India, whether directly or indirectly, have a stigma. In such an environment, PCOS assumes a larger-than-life image. It is no longer a medical issue confined to women, it becomes a social issue as it impacts the family and its social fabric. Despite efforts to raise knowledge about PCOS, there are still gaps since the PCOS stigma is so pervasive in our country. This leads us to the question, what causes women to be stigmatised in this way. Is it due to a lack of knowledge, false information spread by society, or something else? Myth related to PCOS and infertility PCOS is one of the most prevalent, undertreated, understudied, and underfunded conditions affecting women’s welfare. Also the biggest misconception about it is that PCOS equates to infertility. Because women with PCOS can’t adequately explain their condition to others, they sometimes feel excluded and go into their shell and experience loneliness. In reality, this common lifestyle disease impacts fertility in some respects, but the condition does not mean infertility. According to some experts, up to 50 per cent of females suffering from the condition are not effectively diagnosed with it. This is the reason most women end up diagnosing PCOS at a very late stage, specifically in conditions like infertility. Also, different conditions intensify this difficulty. PCOS, symptoms and its social impacts PCOS is a very common endocrine condition in reproductive-aged women. They have hormonal imbalances and metabolism problems that may affect their overall health and appearance. It affects approximately 20 per cent of young women. PCOS is accompanied with a wide range of symptoms, including increase in ovarian size, multiple cysts on their ovaries, irregular menstrual cycles, acne, excessive facial hair, thinning hair, skin breakouts, and weight gain. PCOS can further lead to serious medical conditions such as Diabetes, Hypertension, High Cholesterol, Endometrial or Breast Cancer, infertility in women, depression etc. Patients with PCOS frequently doubt their mental self-image and conviction, which may prevent them from talking about what is happening to their body due to the social repercussions. It has become common to think of women with PCOS as physical representations of the biosocial stresses they face. Their self-perceptions as women and as feminine are challenged. International studies have demonstrated that PCOS negatively impacts the patient’s quality of life. In comparison to women in the general population, they also have higher rates of anxiety and depression. As PCOS is largely perceived as causing infertility, it often leads to divorce, abandonment, low social status, low self-esteem, and altered self-perception. Mindset we need to change PCOS is not a much-talked-about disease in Indian society. Often, married women suffering from PCOS aim at becoming pregnant and the unmarried look to normalising their monthly periods. However, there is a need to spread awareness about PCOS and encourage women to adopt the knowledge, attitude, and practise approaches necessary to manage this disease. The author is an ayurvedic expert at Yogic Naturals. Views expressed are personal. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.