Women’s health tech company Hologic is launching "Better is Possible," a new health education and awareness campaign aimed at getting women to talk to their doctors about their disruptive period symptoms.
Hologic said the initiative is set up to boost awareness around what it calls “quality-of-life challenges” in uterine health, including heavy and disruptive periods, pelvic pain and fibroids.
The company, which sells surgical and imaging technologies for these conditions, said in a release it also wants to “educate women about available treatment options.”
Heavy and disruptive periods, also known as abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB), are estimated by Hologic to impact around 10 million U.S. women each year.
This can cause life-disrupting issues such as pain and tiredness and the need to more frequently change tampons/pads, with a common cause being uterine fibroids.
Hologic says that while these uterine health issues are common, “many women aren’t aware of available treatment options,” and have to live with a stigma about these conditions.
"Roughly two-thirds of women say that their period has impacted their day-to-day life, but until now, there’s been a glaring absence of discussion around solutions," said Mary Byerly, Vice President of Marketing for Hologic’s Gynecological Surgical Solutions division.
“Through this campaign, we want to show women who experience painful periods, uncontrolled bleeding or other uterine health issues, that they don’t have to suffer in silence.”
The new campaign is geared up to get women into their doctor’s offices, shed the stigma and seek treatment, which could include Hologic’s products.
The campaign comes with a dedicated website of the same name that has educational themes about AUB and asks women to “advocate for yourself” and offers a quiz to see if you have symptoms that require a trip to the doctor.
There is also a video that plays on the theme that “women are strong,” which shows women lifting weights in the gym; giving birth; rock climbing, and more.
“When the going gets tough, we get tougher” the narrator intones, but then turns this positive into a negative. “We’ll put on a smile, even when we’re in pain … or know something is just wrong,” the narrator goes on to say, but that you’re told it’s “just part of being a woman.”
“You need a healthcare partner that is as strong as you, and your uterus.” That’s where you need care from Hologic, the video says.
The campaign is being launched first in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Detroit this month.