The impact of painful sexual and reproductive health procedures: lived experiences and priorities for change

Introduction: Physical pain is known to be a common feature of sexual and reproductive healthcare (SRH) encounters for women and other people with a uterus. Our aim was to understand experiences of painful procedures in SRH care and to identify priorities for change.

Methods: In January 2025, we conducted an online qualitative survey of people with lived experience of painful SRH procedures. Focused coding and thematic data analysis was supported by Nvivo 14.

Results: Analysis of the 149 qualitative responses highlighted four key thematic areas: how painful procedures felt at the time; how they made participants feel in the longer term; the impact on decisions around future procedures; and what, from participants’ perspectives, could be done differently. Our results illustrate the impacts of pain in the short and longer term, as well as ways in which painful experiences can shape future engagement with SRH care. Specifically, they highlight the distress, fear and distrust of health professionals and services which these experiences can generate.

Conclusions: While best practice guidance exists for some potentially painful SRH procedures, women and other people with a uterus in the UK continue to report highly negative experiences. Trauma-informed approaches – recognising the role of past experiences and supporting compassionate, respectful patient interactions – could improve training and awareness among health professionals, and broader shifts in attitudes and practice.