Telangana couple run awareness campaign on unnecessary hysterectomies

A couple from Telangana has been running an awareness campaign, 'Save the uterus, strengthen society' in more than 400 districts across the country, educating people about the importance of uterus and the medical conditions that necessitate a hysterectomy.

According to the gynaecologist couple, Dr Surya Prakash and Dr SV Kameshwari, poor and uneducated women in rural India are advised to undergo the expensive uterus removal surgery for medical conditions that do not even warrant an operation.

"According to the National Family Health Survey Data for 2015-16, around 20.1 per cent women in the age group of 40-49 years underwent a hysterectomy in Telangana while in Andhra Pradesh it was at 22 per cent. This was the first time NHFS collected data on hysterectomy," Dr Kameshwari told ANI.

She said that the study pointed out that the highest number of hysterectomies were conducted in Andhra Pradesh followed by Telangana.

"A study published in Health Care for Women International Journal (November 2019) stated that in India, hysterectomy is increasing because people prefer private hospitals. They state that the private health sector tends to perform hysterectomy even if it is not needed," Dr Kameshwari said.

"The average age for women who undergo a hysterectomy in India is 21-28 years, while in western countries it is 44 years. This means Indian women are losing their uterus at a very young age and sometimes their ovaries as well, implying that they are landing themselves into artificial early menopause, which can have drastic side-effects," she added.

Dr Kameshwari said that about 12,000 per lakh women undergo hysterectomy in India adding that they are mostly unnecessary and unethical.

She said that it is very heart-rending to listen to the stories of women about how a hysterectomy was performed on them for simple complaints like abdominal pain or white discharge.

The couple said they found that the participation of men in women's health is very low while running awareness campaigns on the field during their time.

"Unless men participate in women's health, this menace will continue. If organs of women are being removed, it is because men are not participating in the process. As men, we need to take responsibility and understand women's health," Dr Surya Prakash said.

A health worker, Madhavi, said that if any woman in her village got sick, they would have had to travel to the city where they are advised to undergo surgery.

"My mother was having heavy bleeding problems when a doctor advised her to undergo a hysterectomy. After the procedure, she has been having permanent medical issues and needs regular medication," she added.