Beyond the Books: How to Become a Better Women’s Health Advocate

I remember how it felt to pick up the phone, dial the number on the webpage, and wait, taking deep breaths, for the answering machine to pick up.

I’d never done anything like this before.

An automated voice came over the line, outlining the office hours and that my very own senator would be waiting (with bated breath, obviously) for whatever statement I’d yet to pass along.

I left my message outlining what I was calling about and how I’d like my senator to take action.

Simple.

That’s all it took to reach out to a representative to advocate for a cause I cared about.

Later, I called again to speak with a real person.

And again.

I’d always thought of advocacy as this pie-in-the-sky ideal and something for other people to pursue.

People more outgoing.

People more outspoken.

It’s not an easy task for someone who did well in school yet utterly failed when it came to participating in class. But stepping out of my comfort zone, as cliche as the phrase may be, seems to be my theme of the past few years.

Taking risks.

And now, speaking out.

Reading about a cause, nodding my head, and shelving a book or article for future reference has been my MO.

But reading, delightful though it may be, does not amount to action. It may feel as if you’re doing something, filling your brain with loads of information, but the information sits inside you.

Disconnected from the world you inhabit.

Your community.

Your neighbors.

Deliberate, collective action must follow learning to incite change.

So, this upcoming year, I’ve made it my mission to become a better advocate.

For my neighbors.

For women’s health.

Someone who does something instead of bookmarking articles and dog-earing books.

What does deliberate advocacy look like?

Well, here are my thoughts.

Call your representatives to advocate for women’s health policies.

They work for you. Those people who campaigned, who spoke beautiful promises from podiums? They represent you and your concerns.

You can write letters to your state representatives.

You can call about causes for staffers to pass along to senators.

And you can keep calling and writing, and calling and writing. The more you advocate and inform, the more likely your message will be remembered and received.

For women’s health, I’m going to talk about two things in particular: research and funding. Or rather, funding for research. With the new efforts put into women’s health research by the White House, now is the time to double down.

Talk with friends and family unaware of women’s health issues.

For me, this often amounts to sharing lovely statistics about women’s health with people in my vicinity. My housemate hears plenty of exclamations emanating from upstairs of another study discovered or woeful tale of women’s health policy causing harm.

But I’ve also had enlightening conversations with friends about basic hormone health.

I’ve talked with my family about the impact of women’s roles as caregivers and their untapped economic potential.

But let me be clear.

It’s essential to do so in a spirit of understanding. If you sense walls coming up or faces going slack, it’s ok to back down. You can pivot the conversation and try again later when the opportunity presents itself.

And if I don’t know an answer to a question posed in response, I remind myself it’s ok not to know and say I’ll follow up later. It’s nearly impossible to know everything about a cause at one time, especially when said cause keeps changing. Better to double-check your sources than to pass along misinformation.

Read and read some more about women’s health.

Yes, I did call out the readers earlier (myself included). But, all that to say, reading and staying informed is one of the most important things you can do. And I’m not talking about scrolling on Instagram Reels or TikTok.

Please, no.

There are some healthcare providers and women’s health experts on those platforms, yes, but by and large, it’s impossible to discern truth from fiction on social media.

Find books written by experts in the field. I wrote a handy post about some of the best women’s health books I’ve come across. Listen to podcasts like FemTech Focus or Beyond the Paper Gown. Sign up for newsletters from the Guttmacher Institute and the Society for Women’s Health Research.

Knowledge is power, and what you do with that knowledge even more so.

Wrestle with hard truths and ask the right questions.

I struggle with this one. I was raised with utmost certainty as the end all be all, along with black-and-white thinking. Living in the gray feels uncomfortable, yet in women’s health, such areas are commonplace.

Blanket truths and statements scarcely apply when it comes to women’s health. Hence the rise in so many organizations and nonprofits focusing on individualized care and treatment. As such, the solutions we seek scarcely fall under one tidy umbrella.

And that can feel uncomfortable and a little out of control.

But, instead of shoving those topics aside, be it maternal health care, reproductive justice, global women’s health care, or insurance policies, we need to debate them, wrestle with them, and turn them inside out and sideways.

We cannot ignore complicated matters in hopes they resolve themselves. We must bring them to the surface.

Likewise with asking questions. I was listening to someone describe a documentary, Pray the Devil Back to Hell, about Liberian women fed up with the civil war in their country as the people most impacted by the war’s fallout. Instead of deciding which side should win, they paved a third, new path and asked instead: How do we find peace? How do we live together? The solution to a civil war may seem to back one side over the other, yet they chose a third option.

What are our third options when it comes to women’s health?

What are the solutions yet to be uncovered?

How can we facilitate more collective action and more conversations between those with lived experience that can lead to these solutions?

Get in touch with organizations that prioritize women’s health advocacy.

For me, this looks like doing a lot of Googling. A lot of signing up for newsletters. I can’t tell you how many flood my inbox, but I can maintain some semblance of organized chaos as long as I have a nice folder to send them to.

Yet, I confess I often disregard the unread messages or pretend I’ll read them at some later date. This next year, I want to set aside time to read them. To open the articles and digest the information shared. To stay current on webinars, events, and calls for signatures.

Some places I’ve found helpful for women’s health advocacy are the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Action Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s page on Policy and Advocacy, this fabulous page on women’s health advocacy communications, and the American Medical Women’s Association’s compilation of advocacy organizations.

And that’s not to mention all the other organizations and femtech product companies doing their own advocacy work, like Aunt Flow and Days for Girls International.

At the risk of sounding cheesy, let’s make the new year one of greater, intentional advocacy for women’s health.

Of taking action versus reading and wringing our hands.

Of talking with people and righting misconceptions.

I’ve read reports that awareness and self-advocacy can help improve mental health.

So, at the end of the day, it’s a win-win.

The future is bright, my friends. Let’s hasten its arrival.