HealthyWomen and Myovant Sciences Launch “Voices of Periods” to Fight Menstrual Stigma

Six women reflect on their period experiences and journeys to self-advocacy in new video seriesVideo stories and additional information about “Voices of Periods” now available on femaleforwardtogether.comRED BANK, N.J. and BASEL, Switzerland, Feb. 16, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — HealthyWomen, the nation’s leading independent, nonprofit health information source for women, and Myovant Sciences (NYSE: MYOV), a healthcare company focused on redefining care for women and for men, today launched “Voices of Periods,” a storytelling initiative to elevate conversations about menstrual health by sharing diverse, personal stories of the real-life impact of menstrual stigma.“I’m so grateful to these remarkable women for stepping up to fight the stigma around menstruation, one personal narrative at a time,” said Beth Battaglino, RN-C, Chief Executive Officer of HealthyWomen. “While we as a society have taken steps to open up the conversation around periods, menstruation remains insufficiently discussed. These new videos are a uniquely powerful way of conveying both the physical effects of menstruation and the social and emotional implications of the way society treats it.”Six women with diverse backgrounds chose to tell their stories, which were developed in a virtual workshop with The Moth, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building empathy in the world through the art and craft of true, personal storytelling. Each storyteller participated in a narrative workshop and received individual coaching, tools, and training to hone and record her story in a vivid, authentic style.The videos cover common experiences of menstruation — curiosity, shock, shame — as well as medical conditions ranging from infertility to uterine fibroids to athletic amenorrhea. They also highlight related challenges women face when they lack adequate support, be it physical, social, or emotional.Nkem Osian, an Atlantic Fellow for Health Equity and a patient advocate with the White Dress Project, an organization dedicated to raising national awareness about uterine fibroids, is one of the six storytellers. In her video, she explains the power of the approach: “Sharing our stories helps to demystify the myths. It helps to break down the walls of silence. And it helps to shatter the stigma that keeps women suffering in silence.”“‘Voices of Periods’ reminds us how important it is to listen directly to women and to understand their individual experiences,” said David Marek, Chief Executive Officer of Myovant Sciences, Inc. “We hope the steps these storytellers have taken will inspire many others — men included — to break the silence around menstruation.”The initiative also encourages others to share their period stories with the hashtag #VoicesOfPeriods, or through HealthyWomen’s Real Women, Real Stories platform.Both HealthyWomen and Myovant are members of Female Forward Together, a coalition that combines expertise in healthcare, research, data science, digital health, and advocacy. The coalition also includes Evidation Health, Flo Health, and PERIOD. They will continue to drive conversation around menstruation through additional content, including upcoming roundtables hosted by HealthyWomen.Visit femaleforwardtogether.com for the video stories and additional information about “Voices of Periods.”