By Medha Dutta Yadav

New Delhi: As per World Bank data, since the Covid-19 outbreak, female employment in India has dropped down by nine per cent in 2022. This data appears more worrisome when compared to the recent Union Budget statistics that put women’s employability at a healthy 51.44 per cent. What is then stopping Indian women from embracing a professional life?

Of the multiple reasons, an alarming concern is a stress among working women. As the pressure of work increases, its impact on women’s sexual health goes remarkably high, with disorders like Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, etc. leading to infertility among working women.

Plum, a pioneer in driving 'inclusion in insurance’, released a report earlier this month around, “The Reproductive and Sexual Health of Working Women”, urging companies to pay attention to unspoken aspects of women’s health that, it says, will lead to greater support for working women resulting in a higher percentage of women workforce.

Women with their dual responsibility of looking after jobs and household put their health on the back foot. Dr Nisha Kapoor, Director and HOD Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Marengo QRG Hospital, Faridabad, says, “Stress at work disturbs the work-life balance and leads to many health issues including sexual health. Hormonal imbalance and lowered immunity induced by stress also contribute to it.”

According to the Indian Society of Assisted Reproduction, infertility currently affects about 10 to 14 per cent of the Indian population, with higher rates in urban areas where one out of six couples is impacted. Nearly 27.5 million couples actively trying to conceive suffer from infertility in India. “Higher incidence in urban couples is mainly because of career-related stress, higher age at which they start planning and also impact of urbanisation on lifestyle such as drinking, smoking, junk foods, lack of regular exercise etc,” says Kapoor.

Read more: https://www.newsdrum.in/health/womens-workforce-in-india-faces-an-uphill-battle-96801.html