"Endometriosis is not talked about, in many cases it is kept in a dark room"
Biology differentiates two sexes and Medicine also. Both should receive different attention because there are intrinsic characteristics of each one.. Today is the World Women's Health Day to value gender equality at work, women's own pathologies, the promotion of breastfeeding and mental health care are essential components to address the gender inequities.
Susanne Fiedler knows it well. She is commercial director of Organon. Fiedler seeks to expand her vision of a healthier day for all women around the world. His experience in a pharmaceutical company, Merck, allows him to know the needs of half the population. This shift to an organization whose main focus is women Fielder justifies it in that “joining a company with such a strong purpose to really create better health for women around the world was something that inspired me a lot.”
Fielder has been part of the Organon foundation whose motto is “listening and learning from women through an efficient and differentiated operating model”. The company is strongly committed to “improving women's health”, since it is the way to impact “on the health of society”. From a gender perspective, they address reproductive health, cardiovascular diseases, breast cancer, allergies and asthma.
Endometriosis, the disease that few speak of and suffer from celebrities such as Susan Sarandon, Chenoa or Beth
“If you think about women's health, you automatically go to reproductive health. But we know that women face health care gaps at all stages of life.. And by listening to their needs, we've explored various opportunities where we can make a difference for women,” Fielder said.
Susanne Fielder, Organon.
In fact, according to a 2020 study, only 1% of healthcare research and innovation is invested in conditions unique to women, and of the total of 37 prescription drugs approved in the US in 2022, only two were directed at problems of specific women's health
What are 'female' diseases?
“Of course there are pathologies exclusive to women,” explains the head of Organon, who details that, if “unplanned pregnancies are addressed, we know that 50% of all pregnancies worldwide are unintended”. In addition, he qualifies that despite what may be assumed, “this is not only a problem of low-income countries. In Europe, that number is as high as 35%.. And I think that in Spain it has a similar figure. So this is an area of unmet need.”
We need to put a female lens on healthcare in general and look at ailments
Beyond this, Fielder also emphasizes one of the most serious problems in women's gynecological health: endometriosis.. One of the obstacles to it is that it is undervalued and invisible. “It is not talked about, in many cases it is kept in a dark room.”
“Para is the biggest area of unmet need, because it's a very painful disease and it has an impact on women's careers, their relationships and also their fertility,” Fielder said.. The lack of diagnosis, or its late arrival, “there are cases in which it takes up to 10 years or so. So this is an area where we really need new approaches and innovation.”
Endometriosis is a very painful and debilitating disease that affects one in 10 women with reproductive health.. Susanne Fiedler insists on the impact it has on different spheres of the female population: “It has an impact on your education, your career, your personal life or your relationships, and also, unfortunately, it can have an impact on fertility. So it's a very debilitating area for women.”
At the same stage it is worth noting the issue of contraception. “I think we need innovation in that area because not all solutions work for all women,” says Fiedler.. “There is a demand, for example, for non-hormonal contraceptive methods. That is an area we are working on.. You also have to work through education, because many women don't really take any. And if they take one, they do it very fitfully and inconsistently.”
Pregnant a life also penalizes women. There are still places where pregnancy and childbirth are a risk condition, both for the mother and the baby.. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2020, nearly 800 women died every day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.. “This is an area where safety and access to care need to be addressed.. If you think about maternal health, it's very broad.”
In 2020, nearly 800 women died every day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth
Another of the taboo stages in women, as Fielder recalls, is “the menopause. A moment in the life of a woman who carries a great stigma. Nobody really talks about it much, true, but it is obvious that there are not enough options to handle that condition.. It has a huge impact on society and also on the economy, because women are at the top of their career when the symptoms appear.”
“All of these are diseases or conditions that are unique to women, but the needs go much further than that.. Women are also disproportionately affected by many diseases or diseases manifest differently in women,” Fiedler said.
Examples of these claims are heart disease and asthma.. Cardiovascular disease is the cause of death for 35% of women. However, it doesn't really come into focus, it hasn't been researched enough because there hasn't been enough attention paid to it,” says Susanne Fiedler.
“Then there's asthma. Of course, it can affect women and men, but in them it causes more severe morbidity and that translates into more hospitalizations, more visits to the doctor and also higher mortality rates.”
Fiedler points to another of the ailments that affect women: chronic and acute headaches. “Migraine is three times more frequent in women than in men, it is the fourth leading cause of disability in them”. The person in charge of Organon summarizes that “for all this it is not only about reproductive health, nor about diseases exclusive to women. We need to put a female lens on health care in general and look at ailments.”
Workplace programs with a gender perspective
And what is the role of the work environment in this issue? What can companies do to have the sensitivity to work with? Fielder explains that “some companies have programs committed to the environment and to being healthier, but there are no specific programs with a gender perspective.”