“On my down days there are people in the endo community who will build me back up,” says local woman, Nat van Dartel.
Endo, short for endometriosis, is “a common disease where tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows outside it in other parts of the body”, according to Endometriosis Australia.
Endometriosis Australia states that “common symptoms include pelvic pain that puts life on hold around or during a *woman’s period. It can impact fertility. Whilst endometriosis most often affects the reproductive organs, it is frequently found in the bowel and bladder and has been found in muscle, joints, the lungs and the brain”. (*The organisation acknowledges there are individuals in the transgender community and people who are non-binary and living with endometriosis who may not identify as women.)
Recent studies show that an estimated one in 15 Australian women, born 1989-95, have been diagnosed with endometriosis before the age of 30.
Nat didn’t intend on finding a community when she created the first ‘Happy Uterus’ – a wearable heat pack to relieve endo symptoms – but the increase in diagnoses found her at the centre of one.
“Women of all ages, some have been going through their endo journey for a long time on their own. Others are just starting, looking for recommendations for specialists, often having just moved to Canberra.”
Nat has become what she calls an “in-betweener,” facilitating connections between members of the endo community. Through conversations around her stall at the Haig Park Village Markets, and on the Happy Uterus Instagram page, the community shares with one another their pain, relief, and wider experiences in society.
“It’s definitely still uncomfortable for people to talk about, some people feel uncomfortable bringing it up in workplaces,” said Nat.
“If someone feels uncomfortable when you tell them about your period, you have to remember that says more about them as an employer than it does about you.
“Within the Happy Uterus community, I try to emphasise that endo is a condition I have, rather than suffer from. I try to turn it around and show that while it’s a part of me, it’s not my whole identity, because that can be really isolating.”
Happy Uterus’s “monthly wrap ups” share Nat’s own endo journey on Instagram, as well as the total money raised from the donations that come with every purchase, “so people feel like they’re part of that story”.
“I call the Happy Uterus an educational advocacy platform that also sells products, rather than just a business.”
Catch Nat and the Happy Uterus at the Haig Park Village Markets on 5 and 19 December.
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