An Appraisal of the Nature and Extent in Medicalization of Women’s Health and Wellbeing in 21 st Century Nigeria

Abstract

Medicalization, at its core, refers to the process by which human conditions and problems came to be defined and treated as medical issues. In the context of women’s health and wellbeing, this process has been particularly pervasive, often pathologically constructed as natural biological processes such as menstruation, childbirth, and menopause. These processes have contributed to the growing assumption that the woman anatomy is biologically fragile or unstable and frequently need the attention of medical care. The theoretical frameworks adopted for this paper are Ann Oakley’s Radical Feminism approach and Michel Foucault’s Postmodernism. The literature review provides a comprehensive synthesis of scholarly contributions to the field of medical sociology, highlighting both historical and contemporary perspectives on the medicalization of women. The paper also highlight diverse domains of women lives that have been linked with medicalization, and this has far reached implications for their wellbeing in contemporary society. For example, menstruation has been framed as a disorder rather than a natural process, with treatments ranging from hormonal therapy to antidepressants. Also, pregnancy and childbirth, once managed primarily by women and midwives, have become highly medicalized events, dominated by obstetricians and clinical technologies; even more significantly is the problem of infertility and conception that have been influenced through scientific medical inventions. Furthermore, mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety disorders have been disproportionately applied to women. Cosmetic surgeries are increasingly becoming popular among women in Nigeria, driven by changing beauty standards and the desire to enhance appearances. The paper concludes with reflections on the implications of medicalization and suggestions for a more inclusive and empowering approach to women’s health.