The Stitch-Up

How Medical Misogyny Harms Us All

Emma Szewczak, Dr Andrzej Harris

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English

Chatto & Windus
29 May 2025

Memoirs; Social discrimination; Feminism & feminist theory; Public health & preventive medicine; Women's health

Exposing shocking scandals of medical misogyny worldwide, The Stitch-Up is a rallying cry for vaginal healthcare

'Inspiring and invigorating' JULIA BUENO, author of The Brink of Being 'Deeply unsettling and affecting' CATHERINE AIREY, author of Confessions

Got endometriosis? You should have a baby! Painful post-birth prolapse? Well, you had a baby. Let down by doctors? Try our wellness candle! Episiotomy scar? Why not trim your labia too?

It's a stitch-up. And we demand better.

As Emma was being sewn up following the birth of her second child, the midwife paused, looked up, and said the worst thing anyone has ever said to her- 'Your vagina's fallen out.'

After receiving a vague diagnosis of 'prolapse', she spent the next two years being shunted between specialists. The solutions on offer ranged from kegels to hysterectomy and even labia trimming. Some doctors simply shrugged and said there was nothing they could do.

Women around her spoke of similar experiences- mothers told that pain was the price of parenthood; trans women blamed for 'wanting a vagina in the first place'; Black women disbelieved and dismissed; intersex men and women lied to by their doctors.

The mesh scandal that injured thousands. The 'love doctor' who performed nonconsensual vaginal surgeries. Over and over again, Emma heard stories of women in pain, bleeding, dying, failed by the professionals who were supposed to help them.

Medical misogyny kills, and leaves many more in agony, unable to live full lives. The Stitch-Up tells their stories, and calls for better research, healthcare options, language and treatment, arguing that being female should never be a death sentence.

By: Emma Szewczak, Dr Andrzej Harris
Imprint: Chatto & Windus
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 242mm, Width: 167mm, Spine: 27mm
Weight: 483g
ISBN: 9781784744915
ISBN 10: 1784744913
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 29 May 2025
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Emma Szewczak (Author) Emma Szewczak is a British writer. Her first novel The Offset, co-written under the pseudonym Calder Szewczak, was published in September 2021. She read Gender Studies at the University of Cambridge. Dr Andrzej Harris, hailing from Poland, is an Associate Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of St Catharine's College. He teaches undergraduate medical and veterinary students and has a background in molecular biology research. Emma and Andrzej are married and live in Cambridge with their children. Andrzej Harris (Author) Dr Andrzej Harris, hailing from Poland, is an Associate Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of St Catharine's College. He teaches undergraduate medical and veterinary students and has a background in molecular biology research.

Reviews for The Stitch-Up: How Medical Misogyny Harms Us All

Reading about the comprehensive and egregious medical mistreatment of women in the modern era is unsettling, but the authors make it inspiring and invigorating. I have high hopes these stories will be tools in our ongoing fight for change -- JULIA BUENO, author of The Brink of Being Deeply unsettling and affecting... Reading The Stitch-Up is like meeting up with that friend who will tell you how it really was with all the gory details, but they still manage to make you cry with laughter -- CATHERINE AIREY, author of Confessions The Stitch Up addresses a national crisis in a profound yet incredibly humane way. Blending powerful personal stories and science, Szewczak & Harris prove that modern medicine has never served women’s needs and it's time for that to change -- EVE RODSKY, author of Fair Play