A young woman has founded a support group for women with reproductive health problems, like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).<\/p>\n
Bethany Lewis, 18, is a trainee dental nurse from Weston Rhyn in Shropshire and was diagnosed with PCOS in April 2025.<\/p>\n
A few months later she set up The Cysters Circle, which meets up periodically across the county in different towns to reach a wider audience.<\/p>\n
PCOS causes painful and irregular periods, and the NHS estimates it affects up to one in 10 women in the UK. \u00ab\u00a0[The circle was] really needed, not just for myself but for other people as well,\u00a0\u00bb Ms Lewis said.<\/p>\n
PCOS is a hormonal disorder that leads to ovaries producing large amounts of male sex hormones that interfere with the development and release of a woman’s eggs and can also affect periods and fertility.<\/p>\n
Ms Lewis said her symptoms include \u00ab\u00a0very heavy periods\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0dull pain that doesn’t go away,\u00a0\u00bb meaning she often has to take \u00ab\u00a0very strong painkillers.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
The circle supports women and girls with endometriosis, PCOS, or \u00ab\u00a0any other hormonal and reproductive health conditions,\u00a0\u00bb she said.<\/p>\n
When she was first diagnosed in April, Ms Lewis said she \u00ab\u00a0didn’t know anything about the condition,\u00a0\u00bb educating herself using the internet.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0It’s been challenging mentally as well as physically,\u00a0\u00bb she added.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0It’s very lonely as well, so it’s good to have the support in the group.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
The group’s first meeting last month had just two other attendees – but a few weeks later, at their next meet-up in Telford, eleven women took part.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0It’s a massive jump in comparison to our first one, and it’s nice to just start building that community,\u00a0\u00bb Ms Lewis said.<\/p>\n
Those attending share experiences, recommendations, and vent frustrations.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0We have quite a lot of resources from charities as well that we’re able to hand out,\u00a0\u00bb Ms Lewis continued.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0It’s nice to sit there with people who actually understand what you’re going through.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Her goal is to \u00ab\u00a0support more women and girls,\u00a0\u00bb adding that raising awareness is needed \u00ab\u00a0not just locally in Shropshire, but around the UK\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A young woman has founded a support group for women with reproductive health problems, like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Bethany Lewis, 18, is a trainee dental nurse from Weston Rhyn in Shropshire and was diagnosed with PCOS in April 2025. A few months later she set up The Cysters Circle, which meets up periodically across […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9525","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9525\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}