Endometriosis hinders the professional career of women who suffer from it, according to many testimonies.
“Because of the disease, I lost my job as a specialized educator”, testifies in South West Gül Sogüt, member of the association for the fight against endometriosis EndoFrance. Following her two operations, this woman needs her work to be adapted, being unable to “carry a heavy load” or stand “up all day”. The time spent on medical appointments and sick leave are also higher than average.
“Professional activity turned upside down”
Endometriosis is a gynecological disease caused by abnormal migration of cells from the endometrium (which lines the inner lining of the uterus) outside the uterus. While 10 to 15% of women between the ages of 16 and 50 suffer from it, it takes an average of 7 years for the diagnosis to be made, a time that is far too long given the serious symptoms and serious consequences of this pathology.
“A lot of women see their professional activity turned upside down,” insists Yasmine Candau, president of EndoFrance. Endometriosis arouses, according to her, “the misunderstanding of colleagues and the hierarchy”. Fanny Godebarge, founder of the “Cyclique” collaborative platform dedicated to menstruation, and also suffering from endometriosis, says she has already chosen the “classic lie”: ‘I have the flu’ or ‘I have gastro’, to don’t say ‘I have my period'”.
“Being socially embarrassed is not normal”
50% of infertile women suffer from endometriosis. Affected women have very strong pain during their period, sexual intercourse or when they go to the bathroom, which drains them of all energy. Traces of blood in the urine or stool may also appear. “It is the intensity of these pains and the deterioration in the quality of life that should alert. Not being able to go to school or work because of your period, being socially embarrassed, is not normal” , explains François Golfier, who chairs the endometriosis commission of the National College of French Gynecologists and Obstetricians (CNGOF).
According to The Parisian, the CNGOF recently asked the State for help in setting up expert centers for endometriosis. The goal is to “federate skills. The English have had them for ten years. It would take about thirty in France. The idea is to organize care, provide training, promote better education, develop research But we come up against “political and financial blockages”, continues François Golfier.
“I fear that I will never be able to become a mother”
The singer Laurie, suffering from endometriosis, is committed so that sick women can freeze their oocytes in France, which is not currently possible. “I suffer from endometriosis but not severely enough for my country to support my desire for pregnancy. Like one in ten women in France, I fear that I will never be able to become a mother, so to be told that this development would be a matter of comfort is unacceptable and incomprehensible”, she explained in an open letter addressed to President Emmanuel Macron.
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