Q&A: How can medical science better serve women?

Underfunding in reproductive health research, exclusion from clinical trials and misinformation mean women are being underserved by medical science. Recent statistics suggest that only 2% of medical research funding is spent on pregnancy, childbirth, and female reproductive health. This is despite one in three women reporting a reproductive or gynaecological health problem. Additionally, clinical trials often neglect women's reproductive health and there are times when women have been excluded from research altogether. These gaps in our medical knowledge mean we risk not knowing how drugs work in women and whether they have different side effects. Ellie Cawthera speaks to three Imperial experts about how medical science can better serve women: Dr Victoria Male is a senior lecturer in reproductive immunology. She has studied how COVID-19 infection and vaccination affect female fertility, pregnancy and menstrual cycles.