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Womens Health
Hysterectomy
A hysterectomy is a serious
but sometimes necessary event in a woman's life. Whether due
to a persistent, painful but otherwise benign condition like
pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), or something as serious as
cancer, a partial or full hysterectomy affects not only a woman's
ability to bear children, but can induce premature menopause
and often triggers severe depression as well.
There are two primary types of hysterectomy. A full, or radical
hysterectomy involves removal of the uterus, ovaries, and sometime
the cervix. A radical hysterectomy will induce premature menopause,
and hormone replacement therapy is ordered for younger women.
While loss of the ovaries, and their hormone production has
serious side-effects, it is sometimes the best treatment for
aggressive forms of cancer, where the likelihood of spreading
throughout the reproductive tract is considered too high to risk.
Partial hysterectomy generally involves removal of the uterus
alone. Partial hysterectomy is preferred, in any case where the
disorder being treated has not spread to the rest of the reproductive
tract, and is not considered aggressive enough to warrant preventative
removal. There aren't as many medical complications, because
the normal hormonal system is far less severely affected.
Hysterectomy Induced Clinical Depression
The emotional after-effects of either procedure are very similar.
In many cases, even among women who never wanted children, and
those who are finished childbearing, the loss of the ability
to have children has a dramatic impact on a woman's self-image.
While individual women vary greatly from one to the next, society's
image of "what a woman should be" is so deeply entwined
with ideas of motherhood, it's hard for any woman to disregard
such ideas in regard to herself.
For the same reasons, women who do not want children more
often choose the hassle of birth control over surgical sterilisation.
By choosing the temporary and reversible "sterility"
of birth control, they retain a "what if" chance of
childbirth, whether they want children or not. After a hysterectomy,
that "what if" is taken away forever. Many women report
feeling as though they have become less than fully female. They
face many of the same emotional battles as women discovering
they are infertile for other reasons.
Sadly, some women's sense of loss is made worse by those close
to them. Rather than providing needed support and understanding
during a difficult time, spouses, friends and even family members
sometimes withdraw from the hysterectomy patient. Some spouses,
perhaps seeing their own hopes of children disappear, or perhaps
suffering society's limited belief of "what a woman should
be," see their partner as "less" than she was
before surgery. Friends and family may withdraw because they
don't know what to say or do to help, or because the patient
reminds them that they too may one day be in the same place.
While the reactions of everyone involved in the situation
may be understandable. If you or a loved one is facing a hysterectomy,
the best thing you can do is educate yourself about it as thoroughly
as possible, and be prepared for the possible emotional impacts
for everyone. If depression becomes a problem for anyone after
surgery, professional counseling is definitely in order. A hysterectomy
is a serious issue for anyone to deal with, and complicating
it with depression only makes proper care more important.
Hysterectomy Links
UK Department of Health
NHS
Hysterectomy Advice
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