Hvala Tom, Hammarberg Karin
Research Affiliate, Global and Women's Health Unit, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
Global and Women's Health Unit, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
BMC Womens Health. 2025 May 7;25(1):216. doi: 10.1186/s12905-025-03726-y.
Reproductive health conditions present various challenges for women in all aspects of their lives, including in the workplace. This study explores the workplace experiences of employed women with reproductive healthcare needs arising predominantly from endometriosis, as well as adenomyosis and infertility.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 women with one or more of these conditions who were employed while experiencing symptoms of their condition or seeking treatment (such as in-vitro fertilization or laparoscopic surgery).
Interviewees reported significant physical and psychological hardship because of their reproductive health conditions, namely pain associated with endometriosis. The impact of reproductive health needs and treatment on women's ability to work included: difficulty managing symptoms, additional pressure to perform, exhaustion of 'sick leave', and working less and negative impact on career progression. In terms of how workplaces can improve the wellbeing of women with endometriosis and other reproductive health needs, women would benefit from: flexibility and working from home, access to paid reproductive health leave, and improved workplace education, trust and understanding.
Women's own accounts of how endometriosis and their reproductive health impacts their working lives, and what employers can do to support them, provides a platform to better understand women's needs. These findings can inform public-policy solutions and workplace policies to better meet the needs of women with endometriosis and improve their workforce participation.
生殖健康状况在女性生活的各个方面都带来了各种挑战，包括在工作场所。本研究探讨了主要因子宫内膜异位症、子宫腺肌病和不孕症而有生殖健康需求的职业女性的工作场所经历。
对12名患有上述一种或多种疾病的女性进行了半结构化访谈，她们在经历疾病症状或寻求治疗（如体外受精或腹腔镜手术）时仍在工作。
受访者报告称，由于她们的生殖健康状况，即与子宫内膜异位症相关的疼痛，她们在身体和心理上都承受了巨大的痛苦。生殖健康需求和治疗对女性工作能力的影响包括：症状管理困难、工作压力增加、“病假”用尽、工作时间减少以及对职业发展产生负面影响。在工作场所如何改善患有子宫内膜异位症和其他生殖健康需求的女性的福祉方面，女性将受益于：灵活性和在家工作、获得带薪生殖健康假以及改善工作场所的教育、信任和理解。
女性自身关于子宫内膜异位症及其生殖健康如何影响她们工作生活的叙述，以及雇主可以采取哪些措施来支持她们，为更好地了解女性需求提供了一个平台。这些发现可为公共政策解决方案和工作场所政策提供参考，以更好地满足患有子宫内膜异位症的女性的需求，并提高她们的劳动力参与度。
