'A small win': Women react to PCOS changing to PMOS

Added: 2026-05-26

[00:00:00]I mean, you would even go to the doctor and you'll have physicians being like, "Yeah, this name sucks." Medical experts decided to change the name of PCOS to PMOS or polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, and women around the world are reacting to [music] the news. This name change is a win, but it's a small win, and it's just a start.

[00:00:20]>> By changing the name, it opens the door to people actually getting diagnosed because, um, you know, when something is metabolic, it affects your entire body. The World Health Organization estimates that 10% to 13% of reproductive-age women around the world are impacted by PMOS, a disorder that can impact women's [music] fertility and diabetes risk. But when you look at like South Asian demographics specifically, it's even more concentrated. I originally went to South Asian doctors, and unfortunately, there is a [music] big stigma in our community around the diagnosis and just anything that is perceived to be around sexual health or like reproductive health, there's a lot of, unfortunately, >> [music] >> personal value tied to, um, your ability to have children within our community for women. The reason for the name change is polycystic [music] ovary syndrome or PCOS can be diagnosed as cysts in the ovaries, like the name suggests, but the condition can include many more symptoms. [music] I really hope it helps women get answers sooner and also be taken more seriously for the symptoms that they're experiencing rather than being dismissed, um, as experiencing these things that are like a normal part of womanhood. I'm like, "Yeah, [music] it's metabolic, and the things for metabolic disorders are working."

[00:01:38][music] I think about, you know, growing up and experiencing, especially like the mental [music] health stuff that I experienced, um, what we could have like prevented had we known [music] that my hormones were out of whack, and it wasn't just like, "Oh, she's an anxious teenager." I think that [music] it will like garner more sympathy from healthcare providers. I think that, you know, because when something is metabolic, you're it affects [music] your sleep, your stress, your mood, uh everything. But, I think in the grand scheme of things, and I'm speaking for my community in specific, [music] there needs to be a lot more done for the for some real change to happen and for us to get like, you know, the help and the healthcare that we need.