Australia’s first Lady Garden unveiled in Toowoomba for Carnival of Flowers

A young mum whose medical concerns were dismissed by her doctors for almost a year is imploring other women to advocate for their own reproductive health.

Bayer spokeswoman Monica Saba with Toowoomba mum Amy Siebenhausen and Dr Sian Edwards from True Relationships and Reproductive Health at the panel discussion for the opening of Australia's first Lady Garden in Toowoomba's Civic Square. Picture: Supplied.

With many regional women being dismissed by their own doctors, advocates are hoping to end the stigma and misinformation surrounding women’s health at this year’s Carnival of Flowers.

Pharmaceutical company Bayer unveiled Australia’s first Lady Garden, complete with a floral uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries and cervix, at Toowoomba’s Civic Square on Saturday to highlight the importance of women’s reproductive health.

Bayer opened Australia’s first interactive women’s health in Toowoomba's Civic Square on Saturday as part of the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers to encourage women to take control of their reproductive health. Picture: Supplied

Toowoomba mum, Amy Siebenhausen, knows first-hand the struggles women, in particular regional women, face advocating for their health.

“I had never had any issues with periods or fertility growing up then all of a sudden I was,” Ms Siebenhausen said.

“I was like something is wrong, I don’t know what’s happening to me.”

Undertaking her own research, Ms Siebenhausen asked her doctors whether the symptoms she was experiencing could be linked to early menopause.

“I went to my normal GP and they were just like ‘no you’re too young’, ‘it can’t be that’, ‘here’s some anxiety meds’, ‘maybe you should drink some water’.

“I saw two different male doctors and it was just so frustrating.”

Eventually, the young mum of two sought help from women’s health clinic True Relationships and Reproductive Health Toowoomba where she was diagnosed and treated for the exact affliction she suspected.

“It was such an easy process with them and I’d been fighting through this for almost a year.

“I needed help, everyone was telling me it was normal, it was not normal.”

Her story is not uncommon, with Bayer research indicating one in ten women do not feel comfortable talking to their GP about their reproductive health.

“There’s so many things that we are still a bit embarrassed to talk about – that might be urinary stress incontinence or painful sex or pelvic pain,” Senior medical officer at True Relationships and Reproductive Health Dr Sian Edwards said.

“(For regional women) it can be really hard to find a GP who’s actually got an interest in women’s health or knowledge around that topic.”

For Dr Edwards, the key to breaking down these barriers is open communication – between peers and professionals.

“It should be an open conversation because women’s reproductive health generally affects people who menstruate but it also impacts on our families and our workplaces,” she said.

“There can be a lot of misinformation on social media.

“If we can give women some idea of where they can go to ask the questions, feel comfortable whether it’s with us, their own GP, or talking to their family members.

Bayer spokeswoman Monica Saba hopes the Toowoomba Lady Garden will do just that.

“Women don’t put their health first, they often leave it last, based on our research around 60 per cent of women put everything else ahead of themselves.

“It’s really important we have this space and we facilitate and foster dialogue.

“We thought it would be a great opportunity to have a lovely garden to showcase and for women to have a safe space to talk about their health.”

Originally published as Australia’s first Lady Garden unveiled in Toowoomba for Carnival of Flowers