‘If I don’t get the baby, just give me the body’: exploring self-image and self-esteem among women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common disorders affecting women of reproductive age worldwide. Existing research highlights negatively impacted self-image as a common experience among women with the condition. We explored these experiences, using body mapping as a tool to best facilitate reflection and narrative building. Body mapping, an arts-based data collection method, allows the participant to drive the process, best facilitating in-depth reflection. We completed body mapping sessions and online interviews with 11 women living in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. During the interviews, participants reflected on their experiences relating to their symptoms, and the negative impact that these symptoms had on their self-image and self-esteem. These symptoms left women feeling as though they were not feminine enough due to their appearance and limited fertility. Their feminine identities were therefore challenged by themselves and in some instances by others who were close to them. Participants also engaged in social comparison, by comparing themselves to other women, which added to their negative self-image and self-esteem. Current ideals of femininity and appearance are damaging to women with PCOS and must become more inclusive.