There’s no denying that women have more frequent and complex health needs than men. From PCOS and endometriosis to gynecological cancers and UTIs, there is an abundance of health issues women have to deal with that men simply do not. However, women’s health conditions have been historically understudied, and underfunded, and it takes us an average of 4 years longer than men to receive a diagnosis for the same disease.
Think about it: The female reproductive system is responsible for menstruation, ovulation, fertilization, pregnancy, and childbirth, all of which involve a complex interplay of hormones, organs, and tissues. Yet, according to ACOG, nearly 60% of U.S. counties have no gynecologist, and according to the US Census Bureau, 20% of women of reproductive age don’t have health insurance, rendering gynecological care out of reach financially.
From a lack of access to care in this country to having our health concerns dismissed as ‘normal,’ what should be the standard of care for women simply isn’t the reality.
Information About Our Health and Wellness Should Be Free and Accessible to All
As women, it can feel like we’re constantly learning how to take the best possible care of our bodies and minds, and often without the guidance of a trusted healthcare provider. From “What are the symptoms of a yeast infection?” to “Are severe menstrual cramps a sign of endometriosis?” the questions can feel endless with the resources limited and, generally, expensive.
At Rescripted, we fundamentally believe that information about our health and wellness should be free and accessible to all. We know that education is a key social determinant of health, which is why we’re broadening our platform to ensure that women aren’t left wondering – or regretting – why they didn’t advocate for themselves sooner.
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So, How Did We Get Here?
As IVF moms who each went through our own heartbreaking experiences with infertility, Rescripted began as a media platform and community for fertility, infertility, and pregnancy loss. However, over the past year and a half, we have found ourselves wondering time and time again why — in 2023 — there is still such a stigma surrounding these all-too-common experiences.
According to the CDC, 1 in 5 women of childbearing age will experience infertility. That doesn’t include the members of the LGBTQ+ community who decide to pursue Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) to grow their families. Further, 1 in 4 known pregnancies end in miscarriage; and yet, so many individuals and couples are still suffering in silence, unsure of where to look for answers or how to seek help.
Sex Education Did Us Wrong
After a lot of soul-searching and asking why, it didn’t take us very long to realize that Sex Ed failed to teach us what we actually needed to know about our bodies and how they work. In fact, in a recent poll of our community, 84% responded that they were taught pregnancy prevention in Sex Ed, while only 8% were taught about periods, ovulation, and infertility. Not only that, nearly 1,000 people have taken our State of Sex Ed survey in just a few short weeks in hopes of changing Sex Ed for future generations.
When we, as co-founders of a women’s health startup, found ourselves asking Google intimate questions about our bodies, a lightbulb went off in both of us. If women are in need of quality and approachable science-backed health and wellness content, we should be the ones to give it to them — from the first period to the last period.
Customized Women’s Health Content in the Voice of Your Best Friend Over Brunch
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At Rescripted, community is and always has been our North Star. For millennia, we’ve seen the importance of community to women. We keep each other’s secrets, boost each other’s confidence, and tightly lock arms through life’s ups and downs. We keep each other well, and we make each other better. As Reese Witherspoon put it on a recent episode of the We Can Do Hard Things podcast, “Good friends are like charging stations.”
Still, while we’re better together, we know that everyone’s health and fertility journey is completely different. That’s why, rather than search our site up and down for the information relevant to you, we want to meet you where you are when it comes to your reproductive, hormonal, and sexual health. Enter My Journey.
My Journey is the best of Rescripted content, tailored to your unique experience. After taking a short quiz, your My Journey page is then custom-built for you based on wherever you are and the issues you’re most concerned with. For example, if you’re Kristyn Hodgdon, are 34 years old, and have PCOS, Hashimoto’s, and Secondary Infertility, we’ll serve you articles, videos, podcast episodes, and products applicable to you and you alone.
And if our community is talking about something that we think might interest you, we’ll let you know. Because while getting our most burning health and wellness questions answered is important, we can’t do it alone, and we shouldn’t have to.