Is it really normal? Wouldn't it deserve relief?
Em algum ponto entre a biologia e a cultura, a dor das mulheres aprendeu a se calar. No Brasil, especialistas alertam que condições como cólicas menstruais e enxaquecas — que afetam milhões de mulheres com frequência e intensidade desproporcionais — são sistematicamente minimizadas por profissionais de saúde e pela própria sociedade, não por falta de tratamento disponível, mas porque o sofrimento feminino foi normalizado a ponto de se tornar invisível. O que está em jogo não é apenas um diagnóstico tardio, mas a ideia fundamental de que a dor de uma mulher merece ser levada a sério.
- Mulheres relatam dores crônicas e recebem, em resposta, a palavra 'normal' — como se nomear o sofrimento fosse o mesmo que resolvê-lo.
- A ginecologista Telma Zakka denuncia que até a dor do parto, um dos momentos mais intensos da vida humana, é tratada como algo que simplesmente deve ser suportado, sem direito a alívio.
- O neurologista Gabriel Kubota revela que enxaquecas atingem mulheres com mais frequência e severidade do que homens, mas muitas jamais buscam tratamento porque foram ensinadas desde cedo a aceitar a dor como destino.
- A subnotificação cria um ciclo perverso: sem registros, a dor feminina desaparece da literatura médica, o que reforça a crença de que ela é menos grave — e assim o silêncio se perpetua.
- Especialistas apontam que a mudança exige que o sistema de saúde pare de tratar 'normal' e 'tratável' como conceitos opostos, e comece a oferecer diagnóstico, alívio e escuta como cuidado básico.
Um programa de televisão reuniu especialistas na última sexta-feira para discutir um problema que cruza medicina e cultura: o subtratamento sistemático da dor crônica em mulheres. A questão central não é a ausência de soluções médicas, mas a normalização do sofrimento — a ideia de que certas dores, por serem comuns na biologia feminina, não precisariam ser tratadas.
A ginecologista Telma Zakka foi direta: quando uma mulher relata dor, a tendência dos profissionais de saúde é minimizá-la. A linguagem em torno da biologia feminina é reveladora — cólicas são 'normais', a dor do parto é 'normal'. Mas normalidade e necessidade de tratamento não são excludentes. Uma cólica pode ser esperada e ainda assim ser tratável. É nesse intervalo — entre o que acontece e o que poderia acontecer — que a dor das mulheres reside.
O neurologista Gabriel Kubota acrescentou outra camada ao problema: as enxaquecas afetam mulheres com mais frequência e intensidade do que homens, mas muitas nunca buscam ajuda porque internalizaram a dor como algo inevitável. O condicionamento começa cedo — meninas aprendem em casa que dores de cabeça ligadas ao ciclo menstrual são apenas algo a suportar, não uma condição médica com tratamento estabelecido.
O que emerge é uma armadilha dupla. Mulheres experimentam certas condições de forma mais aguda, mas recebem menos tratamento e menos validação emocional. E a subnotificação agrava tudo: se a dor feminina não é registrada, ela se torna invisível na pesquisa médica, reforçando a suposição de que é menos séria. Para os especialistas, a mudança começa quando o sistema de saúde passar a tratar o sofrimento das mulheres não como normalidade a ser tolerada, mas como problema a ser resolvido.
A television program last Friday examined a problem that sits at the intersection of medicine and culture: the systematic undertreatment of chronic pain in women. The episode brought together specialists to discuss why conditions that affect millions of Brazilian women—from menstrual cramps to migraines—are routinely dismissed or left untreated, not because medicine lacks solutions, but because healthcare providers and society at large have normalized the suffering.
Gynecologist Telma Zakka framed the issue plainly: when a woman reports pain, most health professionals tend to minimize it. She pointed to the language we use around female biology—labor pain is "normal," menstrual cramps are "normal," as though normality and the need for treatment are mutually exclusive. "Is it really normal?" she asked. "A moment so profound—wouldn't it deserve relief? Wouldn't it deserve care? That's not what we see in practice." The distinction matters. A condition can be biologically typical and still cause unnecessary suffering. A menstrual cramp can be expected and still be treatable. The gap between what happens and what could happen is where women's pain lives.
The problem extends beyond dismissal into underreporting. Neurologist Gabriel Kubota explained that migraines occur more frequently and with greater intensity in women than in men, yet many women never seek treatment because they've internalized the idea that this is simply their lot. The cultural messaging starts early—girls are taught at home that headaches tied to their menstrual cycle are just something to endure. Kubota emphasized that migraine is a disease with established treatments, yet women often don't access them because they've accepted the pain as inevitable rather than recognizing it as a medical condition worthy of intervention.
What emerges from these accounts is a double bind. Women experience certain conditions more acutely than men do, yet they receive less aggressive treatment and less emotional validation. The healthcare system fails them twice: first by treating their pain as normal rather than as a problem to solve, and second by not adequately documenting or studying their experiences. The underreporting itself becomes part of the problem—if women's pain isn't recorded, it becomes invisible in medical literature and research, which then reinforces the assumption that it's less serious or less real.
The conversation suggests that meaningful change requires a shift in how healthcare providers listen to women and how women are taught to listen to themselves. It means recognizing that normality and treatability are not opposites. It means understanding that offering relief, support, and proper diagnosis isn't a luxury—it's basic medical care. For the millions of women managing chronic pain in silence, the question is whether the healthcare system will finally begin to treat their suffering as something that matters.
Citas Notables
When a woman reports pain, most health professionals tend to minimize it. A menstrual cramp can be expected and still be treatable.— Gynecologist Telma Zakka
Migraine is a disease with established treatments, yet women often don't access them because they've accepted the pain as inevitable rather than recognizing it as a medical condition.— Neurologist Gabriel Kubota
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why do you think doctors dismiss women's pain more readily than men's?
It's not usually conscious cruelty. It's that certain conditions—menstrual pain, labor pain—have been culturally coded as "normal," almost inevitable. Once something is normal, it stops being seen as a problem to solve. Doctors inherit that same cultural script.
But the pain is real either way, right?
Absolutely. And that's the contradiction. A migraine that happens every month is still a migraine. It still deserves treatment. But if a woman has been told her whole life that this is just what being a woman means, she often doesn't even ask for help.
So it's not just the doctors—it's also what women believe about their own bodies?
Yes. The system works on both sides. Healthcare providers minimize the complaint, and women internalize the message that suffering is normal. They reinforce each other.
What would actually change this?
Doctors would need to listen differently—to treat pain reports as medical information, not as complaints about life. And women would need permission to stop accepting what they've been taught to accept. Both things have to happen.
Is there research showing women's pain is undertreated?
There's evidence of underreporting, which is its own problem. If women don't report their pain, it doesn't show up in medical data. Then the data seems to confirm that it's not a big issue. It's a cycle.
What about conditions like migraines—are those actually worse in women?
Yes. Migraines are more frequent and more intense in women, often tied to hormonal cycles. But because women are taught to see them as normal, many never get proper treatment. The condition is real. The undertreatment is real. Both are true.