The State of Medical Gaslighting 2021-2023
72% of millennial females felt gaslighted by a medical
professional
Caring about our health shouldn’t feel like a guilt trip.
Stepping into a doctor’s office as a woman is a vulnerable experience. According to our recent survey — one thing still hasn’t changed: women feel dismissed and exposed at the doctor’s office.
So we teamed up with medical experts, patients, and reproductive tech companies to bridge the gaps.
Getting gaslighted — what does it feel like?
Gaslighting: when someone in a position of power
invalidates your thoughts, feelings, or emotions by
making you question your reasoning and mental sanity.
of people* believe they experienced medical gaslighting at some point.
of female* respondents say medical gaslighting was more severe due to their gender.
After 2 miscarriages, I was told it was common and therefore there was nothing to investigate until I lose a 3rd child.
Being a Black American, it’s hard to get answers.
When discussing severe issues I experience due to my cycle and irregular periods I have had for over a decade, I have either been met with it not being a big deal or birth control as the only solution. Instead of feeling seen, I feel like a nuisance.
The doctors used my age, my job as causative factors and said that I waited too long to see them and there’s nothing they could do for me now.
I suddenly started experiencing extreme pain & heavy, heavy bleeding during my periods—but felt like I had to convince the hospital that I should see the doctor. It was infuriating. And it made me feel like I am the one being crazy!
Map of Medical Gaslighting Per State
Q: Have you experienced medical gaslighting by
a doctor?
Here’s the percentage of participants who did.
Imagine having to prove what your body is
going through
of American women felt their doctor ignored, dismissed or minimized the severity of their concerns.
women have been told by a doctor that their physical symptoms are simply due to stress.
women were told they needed to lose/gain weight to feel better.
This isn’t happening now—it has been
going on for years
Women receive 25% fewer painkillers in emergency rooms and hospitals compared to men
Women are diagnosed with cancer 4 years later than men
Women are referred to mental health professionals 4x more often than men when facing physical symptoms.
It is normal and doesn't need medical
management.
This is what 8 out of 10 participants heard from their healthcare provider when sharing concerns about their symptoms.
This is how some women feel after visiting their fertility doctor:
Confused, frustrated, and unsure of what to do next.
Ignored or dismissed.
Guilty.
Stereotyped or discriminated.
But where are the gaps?
We asked the patients.
Why do patients think some doctors are dismissive? Here are their thoughts**:
lack of health testing of patients
lack of reproductive health research in general
think it’s due to incompetence or professional mistakes
Taking back control
of patients said they wanted to take control of their symptoms and treatments to feel more involved, and 83.8% would like to track their hormone levels independently.**
Technology as an empowering tool
51% of Gen Z and 44% of Millenials* use technology for health
monitoring and testing:
Physical activity tracking
Heart/pulse rate tracking
Sleep monitoring
At-home testing kits
Tools for managing chronic illnesses/conditions
Doctors were proclaiming that “everything looked good” but I still wasn’t getting pregnant.
Mira helped me become my own advocate—in a way I never expected.
If you find yourself with doctors that are giving you any pushback and need proof of what you’re going through with your body, Mira can help you.
I have PCOS and have been told by several doctors that this would prevent me from ever conceiving
Doctors' thoughts about medical gaslighting.
One of the most vulnerable things a female can do is step into your office and share a concern or problem they are having. It is highly likely they have been dismissed by several other providers with symptoms overlooked, leaving the patient feeling broken. Our job as healthcare providers is to give our patients time, believe what they are saying to be true, and respect their wishes moving forward with a plan of care. We must remember that just because something is common doesn't mean it is normal.
Dr. Tara Brandner, Doctorate Nurse Practitioner, FNP-C & Fertility Coach, tarabrandner.com
Medical gaslighting by healthcare providers can have a devastating impact on women. These experiences can erode trust in medical professionals, create feelings of self-doubt, and lead to delays in receiving proper care. Women have the power to speak up and challenge dismissive attitudes in healthcare to receive the care they deserve. Healthcare providers must listen, validate, and act when women voice concerns about the signs and symptoms they are experiencing during a medical visit.
Shawana S. Moore, DNP, APRN, WHNP-BC, PNAP (she/her/hers)
We’re here to help make a difference
Mira is acts like an at-home mini lab which reveals real-time hormone data. More than 50K people have chosen Mira to guide their journey.
An Independent clinical study shows that patients testing hormones with Mira felt more empowered.
A study done by the Olive Fertility Center, proved that at-home hormones testing devices like Mira may improve the fertility patient experience compared with a traditional approach.
Our technology matches lab-grade accuracy, and it is chosen by independent OB/GYNs, fertility clinics and researchers.
See what medical experts are saying about Mira
Working in women’s healthcare as an OB/GYN for years taught me to try diving in every detail of my patients’ health as well as some aspects of their personal life that they can share with me. Once it helped me to avoid complications during patient’s labour per vias naturalis so I try to keep this strategy. As much data I can obtain the more detailed strategy for treatment and monitoring I can have. Modern approach of cycle characteristics, symptoms and hormones tracking with apps made me more confident in finding the right diagnosis and treatment strategy. Monitoring hormonal health of my patients with Mira charts along with other diagnostics opportunities if needed gives me a scope of what is happening not leaving patient and me with a missing puzzle piece to take a decision of further steps to achieve the result.
Katerina Shkodzik, MD, OB/GYN, Medical Advisor at Mira
As a fertility specialist, I was used to seeing my patients’ hormone results only twice per cycle. With Mira hormone tracking, I can see hormone patterns throughout many days of the cycle, over multiple months. This has provided clinical insight I have never had access to before, and allows me to tailor treatments in a much more individualized way.
Erin Foran Wolff, MD, FACOG, OB/GYN, Reproductive Endocrinology pelexmed.com
From my perspective as a reproductive endocrinologist and fertility specialist, Mira is a game-changing tool for patients and clinicians. With the convenience of home urine testing, the quantitative data of a laboratory blood test, and an informative and engaging app for hormone tracking—it seems to be the best of all worlds to improve the patient experience and optimize treatment outcomes.
Gary S. Nakhuda, MD, FACOG, OB/GYN, Reproductive Endocrinology pelexmed.com
Methodology
This report was conducted in April 2023 based on two cross-sectional surveys run by Mira in 2021-2023 to explore people's experience at the doctor’s office.
Country: United States Gender: 56% Female / 44% Male
Ethnicity:
- White 58%
- Black 14%
- Asian 12%
- Arab 2%
- Latino / Hispanic 6%
- Multiracial 1%
- Other 7%
Education:
- Middle school 2%
- High school 33%
- College 20%
- University 35%
- Post-graduate 10%
September 2021
Total responses: 1000
Age range: 18+
Country: United States
Gender: Female
