Breaking the Negative Stigmas of Abnormal Menstrual Cycles with Dr. Sara Dean

When dealing with a painful menstrual cycle, women are often told to simply, “deal with it.” 

But on this episode of Why Am I Just Finding This Out, a podcast for women’s health, host Kristen Stovern, DNP, WHNP, CNM, FACNM, and guest Dr. Sara Dean, DNP, MSN, APRN, RNFA, WHNP-BC, discuss why that unconscious bias is as harmful as it is counterproductive. 

Dean, a seasoned Nurse Practitioner and Nurse Leader with a rich background in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors, specializes in advancing women’s health, her role as a Medical Science Liaison crucial in fostering scientific exchange and collaboration with healthcare experts to enhance patient care and clinical practices.

Stovern and Dean address the often overlooked issue of abnormal menstrual pain and its underlying causes, stressing the importance of not dismissing such discomfort as a normal part of womanhood, but rather recognizing it as a potential indicator of serious health conditions to address and take seriously. 

“There are multiple modalities for treatment [of menstrual pain],” Dean explains. “It’s not a lost cause, it’s not something that you have to [just] deal with… advocate for yourself, advocate for your quality of life.”

The two also discuss the prevalence of uterine fibroids, a common source of pain during the menstrual cycle, which affect up to 80% of women by age 50. These benign tumors can be inconspicuous until they cause significant issues, such as pain during intercourse, complications during conception and childbirth, as well as joint and muscle pain.

Dean and Stovern emphasize the need for a more informed and empathetic approach to women’s hormonal health and wellness, urging medical professionals to better support women in managing their health comprehensively. 

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