A common condition which can affect the fertility of women was highlighted by Toby Perkins MP in Parliament recently.

Toby pledged his support for Endometriosis Awareness Month, to highlight the debilitating condition that affects 1 in 10 women from puberty to menopause.

Endometriosis Awareness Month takes place throughout March, which this year aims to raise the importance of education in tackling alarming diagnosis times.

To mark the month, Endometriosis UK has launched new education material with the Royal College of GPs to support GPs to identify endometriosis. This, coupled with changes to the school curriculum from 2020 to include menstrual wellbeing, is “another step in the right direction to tackling diagnosis times”, according to the leading support charity Endometriosis UK.

Diagnosis time for endometriosis currently takes an average of 7.5 years, which MPs including Toby Perkins MP are campaigning to see reduced.

Toby Perkins MP said: “I’m proud to be supporting endometriosis awareness month which aims to raise awareness of this debilitating condition that affects 1 in 10 women of reproductive age. Despite endometriosis affecting 1.5 million women, a similar number of women affected by diabetes, diagnosis time takes an average of 7.5 years and the disease is still widely unheard of.

“Endometriosis costs the UK economy £8.2bn a year in treatment, loss of work, and healthcare costs. I’m therefore delighted to be working with Endometriosis UK to urge the Government to help improve awareness, diagnosis, and research of endometriosis”.

Emma Cox, CEO of Endometriosis UK added: “Endometriosis UK is delighted to be working with MPs from across all Parties to raise awareness of endometriosis during awareness month and beyond. We are grateful to MPs for recognising the critical role they play in ensuring women do not suffer in silence with conditions such as endometriosis; helping drive down diagnosis time which currently averages at an alarming 7.5 years”.

“Endometriosis UK has welcomed the news that menstrual wellbeing will be included in the new Relationship & Sex Education curriculum and will be compulsory to teach all children in both primary and secondary education. This change will help overcome the taboo and embarrassment around periods, as well as equipping girls with the knowledge of what is and isn’t normal for their menstrual cycle, and in turn the confidence to seek help when it is needed. Importantly, they will also know the correct language to communicate with their parents or medical practitioners.

“It’s incredibly encouraging to see the shift in conversation around menstrual conditions in Parliament, and we look forward to continuing this work to help ensure every person suffering from endometriosis is given the right treatment at the right time”.

For more information on Endometriosis Awareness Month, please visit: https://www.endometriosis-uk.org/