26/11/2025
PCOS: The Weight of a Stigma We Rarely Talk About Enough
When Ada turned 24, her aunties started calling her “onye ibu” (the fat girl).
In the market, the tomato seller joked loudly, “Fine girl, you sure say you go see husband with this your big belle?.”
People laughed. Ada didn’t.
She laughed only at home, in the dark, when nobody could hear her crying.
What they didn’t know was that Ada wasn’t adding weight anyhow.
She wasn’t lazy.
She wasn’t eating too much.
She wasn’t pregnant.
Ada had Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS); a hormonal disorder that affects millions of African women, yet is wrapped in silence, shame, and myths.
The Stigma
Because her periods came once in three months, her mother whispered to a pastor, “Maybe someone locked her womb spiritually.”
When acne broke out heavily on her cheeks, people said, “You’re not taking care of yourself.”
When she struggled to conceive, the blame went straight to her as if infertility must always be the woman’s fault.
The loudest myth Ada heard were:
If you have PCOS, you can never get pregnant.
Not true.
It happens only to overweight women.
Not true.
It is caused by spiritual attacks.
Definitely not true.
As radiographers we see the real story through imaging:
1. PCOS is a medical condition; a hormonal imbalance that often shows multiple follicles on ultrasound.
2. Many women with PCOS do conceive, naturally or with medical help.
3. PCOS affects women of all body sizes. Weight gain is a symptom, not a character flaw.
4. Early diagnosis and lifestyle support can make a huge difference.
What women need is care, not criticism.
Ada’s Turning Point
It wasn’t harsh comments that helped Ada.
It was a simple transvaginal ultrasound.
A clear diagnosis.
A doctor who explained the condition with compassion.
A radiographer who didn’t judge her body.
A community that finally understood.
Today, Ada speaks up so other women won’t suffer in silence.
PCOS is not a woman’s fault. Stigma does more damage than the condition itself.
Let’s replace shame with science. 💪
My name is Samuel Ifebuche Agada, a Medical radiographer and a Machine Learning Engineer (in training).
Every mid-week, I will be advocating about health stigmas that people rarely talk about.
