petition.parliament.uk/petitions/623415

Following the Government's first-ever 'Women's Health Strategy' published in July this year, we are petitioning the Government to add PCOS and endometriosis to the secondary national curriculum.

Leading the campaign, Leila was finally diagnosed at 19 after unwittingly living with the symptoms of PCOS for four years, her GP didn't properly explain what PCOS was, and she was also misinformed her about her fertility. This confusion led to an unwanted pregnancy and a subsequent termination which she found highly traumatic, and was left very confused and let down by the system.

This experience, plus suffering from recurrent miscarriage later in life, made her realise the gap in education about these common gynaecological conditions that affect 1 in 10 women in the UK.

In 2020 the Government added RSHE (Relationships, Sex and Health Education) to the national curriculum. However, whilst this includes menstruation, it doesn't include common gynaecological conditions like PCOS and endometriosis. This is important because around 70% of women don't know they have PCOS, and it takes approximately eight years, and three A&E trips from the onset of endometriosis to get a diagnosis. We must teach children about these conditions at schools to ensure girls can spot their symptoms and push for an early diagnosis, saving years of suffering unnecessarily.