As a commitment of the Women’s Health Strategy for England, the LSHTM team were commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care to carry out the Reproductive Health Survey for England.
The survey covers four broad areas: periods and menopause; preventing and planning pregnancy; pregnancy experiences and outcomes; and reproductive health conditions, such as endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome.
Most women have periods for nearly 40 years. Over this time, women should be able to make choices to enable their positive reproductive health and wellbeing, such as if and when to have children or how to access healthcare and treatment. Unfortunately, many areas of reproductive health, including abortion, miscarriages, infertility, and menstrual issues, continue to be taboo topics and many women feel unheard, even when they have sought professional help. Health conditions associated with reproductive organs and past reproductive experiences may continue after menopause, such as uterine prolapse and urinary incontinence. We also know there are disparities in reproductive health and wellbeing in England. Period poverty is an issue that has gained more attention during the economic crisis with increasing numbers of women not being able to afford menstrual products. Whether or not you can access fertility treatment may depend on your postcode. Maternal mortality is nearly four times higher amongst Black women in comparison to White women.
In June 2022, the Women’s Health Strategy for England was launched. The goal of this 10-year strategy is to improve health experiences and outcomes for women. A Strategy commitment is to commission a Women’s Reproductive Health Survey every two years. LSHTM was commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care to develop and pilot the survey in 2021 and to conduct the survey in 2023.
A note on language
The Reproductive Health Survey asks questions about periods, menopause, pregnancy and gynaecological conditions, and was designed to be completed by any person for whom these topics are directly relevant. The term ‘women’ is used in documentation relating to the survey, however we recognise that the topics under study may be directly relevant to people who do not identify as women.
Rebecca
French
Professor of Reproductive Health
Ona L
McCarthy
Assistant Professor
Melissa
Palmer
Assistant Professor
The Reproductive Health Survey for England uses an online non-probability sampling strategy, recruiting via social media, press coverage and network dissemination. The questionnaire covers four broad areas: periods and menopause; preventing and planning pregnancy; pregnancy experiences; and reproductive health conditions, such as endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome. The survey was designed for 16-55 year old women and people described as female at birth who are resident in England.
Findings
April 2025 update:
Findings from the 2023 Reproductive Health Survey for England published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
In Autumn 2023, we asked women and people assigned female at birth to tell us about their reproductive health and experiences. We had almost 60,000 responses. We would like to extend a huge thank you to every person who took part.
We have just published some findings that we’d like to share with you. We looked at how many participants reported a wide range of reproductive health related experiences in the last year including heavy and severely painful periods, menopausal symptoms, reproductive conditions like endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome, and infertility and pregnancy loss. We also looked in to how reproductive health varies by age, ethnicity, and financial status.
Key findings:
- Almost 75% of participants aged 16 to 55 had recent experience of at least one of the reproductive health issues we asked about.
- Among those aged 16-24, 1 in 3 reported severely painful periods and more than half experienced heavy menstrual bleeding in the last year.
- Among those aged 40-55, 2 in 3 participants experienced hot flushes and/or night sweats in the last year.
- Among those in their 30s, more than 1 in 10 reported experience of pregnancy loss or infertility in the last year.
- More than 1 in 4 reported having a reproductive condition, such as endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, uterine fibroids, pelvic organ prolapse, or cervical, ovarian, uterine, or breast cancer.
- Women from minority ethnic groups, particularly black women, were more likely to report reproductive conditions, menstrual issues, and pregnancy-related adverse experiences.
- There was a strong association between financial status and reproductive health, with those who were struggling financially having poorer reproductive health.
These findings highlight just how common negative reproductive health experiences are, and that important inequalities exist across many different aspects of reproductive health. If we apply our results to the population of 16-55 year old women living England, we estimate that more than 10 million women are currently dealing with, or have recent experience of, at least one of the reproductive health related issues we examined.
We hope these findings help to get reproductive health the attention, investment and support it so desperately needs and deserves.
See an infographic illustrating some of our key findings.
Read the full open access paper.
The RHSE2023 was funded by the DHSC and carried out by researchers at LSHTM. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the DHSC. Our partner organisations, LGBT Foundation, Race Equality Foundation, Brook, and Birth Companions, supported the design and dissemination of the survey.
See findings from the pilot survey, conducted in 2021.
View a briefing of initial findings from the main survey, conducted in 2023.
Read questions and answers about the survey.