@cnn: One-third of women in the US struggle to get doctors to take their symptoms seriously, according to a new survey. And of those women, more than half said health issues affected their work and homelives. Many Americans have inadequate access to quality healthcare, said Stephanie Marken, a researcher who worked on the survey, which was released Friday by Gallup and the organization Pivotal. But for many women, getting an appointment is "really half the battle." Once they have seen a provider, "they're having a series of negative experiences at a much higher rate than men — things like feeling like they've been dismissed, or that their pain has been minimized, or that they're leaving without the information that they need," said Marken, a senior partner at Gallup. For instance, severe bleeding after giving birth is one of the top causes of maternal mortality in the United States. Postpartum hemorrhage is preventable, but providers often don't heed women's initial reports of symptoms. Healthcare providers also often miss heart attacks in women because they don't present with the telltale chest pain that men do. In the poll, women were far more likely than men to report fighting to have their health concerns taken seriously: 42% of women said they have had to speak up or advocate for their health, compared with 26% of men. What's more, men were diagnosed faster than women – even when they had the same medical condition. 📸: Elan Irving/iStockphoto/Getty Images

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Friday 18 September 2026 15:16:02 GMT