Should women get the week off work if they experience a painful period? 

Debate on the subject has been sparked after American model Bella Hadid suggested that, “We should literally ban women working on the week of their period

On Newstalk Breakfast, journalist Olivia Petter said while there is “no realistic prospect” of women actually getting a whole week off work every menstrual cycle, she believes it is a subject still worth discussing. 

“If you really think about some of the symptoms that women experience during the PMS, we have intense fatigue, pain, brain fog, struggles to concentrate, body aches and not to mention all the psychological symptoms,” she said. 

“For many of us, it’s a really heightened emotional time; it can be an intensely depressive time.”

A close up of a young woman with menstrual cramps. Picture by: Alamy.com.

Ms Petter added that for some women it can be “really difficult” to get out of bed sometimes when they are on their period, let alone go to work. 

“I think it definitely calls for greater consideration for how women are treated when they are going through premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and how that should be taken into consideration for their working week,” she said. 

When asked whether this leave would be paid or unpaid, Ms Petter said she had not thought through the practicalities as she viewed it as so unlikely to happen. 

“What’s the alternative?” she asked. 

“If you ask someone that has intense PMS and every month you are struggling with depressive episodes where you can’t get out of bed, where you are struggling with pain, you can’t concentrate - are you supposed to just pretend everything’s okay?” she said. 

A woman on her period. Picture by: Quality Stock / Alamy Stock Photo

Ms Petter said while most women might not need leave every month, it is still a subject worth discussing. 

“I think we’ve just got a really backwards approach when it comes to taking women’s health seriously,” she said. 

“Actually, I think part of the problem is a lot of women who do experience those intensely horrific PMS symptoms - and it might not be every month, it might be once every few months - there’s no predicting it. 

“But because of this attitude where we think, ‘Oh, well it’s fine, we’ll just toughen up because we want to be as good as the men’ - the truth of the matter is men don’t experience periods, men don’t experience PMS. 

“Because of that attitude, there is this kind of taboo around actually feeling comfortable saying, ‘This week, I’m feeling really unwell because of my period.’” 

Ms Petter concluded by noting that since she has written about the subject, she has been “inundated” by women who have said they have fainted while at work on their period. 

Main image: A sick woman with suffering from period pain. Picture by: Alamy.com