Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) in women is a term that encompasses a range of conditions, including endometriosis, vulvodynia, painful bladder syndrome and adenomyosis. Given the impact on penetrative sex, fertility and potentially motherhood, CPP may also impact on women's identities as a wife or partner, a mother, and a woman. The aim of this study was to explore similarities and differences in experiences of women with endometriosis and non-endometriosis related CPP. A total of 17 participants aged between 21 and 48 years old participated in three focus groups. Using reflexive thematic analysis three main themes were found: the struggling woman, the unheard woman and the self-silenced woman. Women, regardless of the cause of their CPP, reported significant impacts on their intimate relationships, fertility, and parenting but those with non-endometriosis CPP often reported greater trouble communicating about pelvic pain in the workplace due to the “taboo” nature of discussing their vulval pain. Many participants described how a societal normalisation of pelvic pain resulted in women silencing their experiences, rendering their pain invisible. While women wanted to resist such silencing through information and support seeking, women with non-endometriosis CPP described fewer avenues to accessing credible informational resources or networks for support.

女性慢性盆腔痛 (CPP) 是一个涵盖一系列疾病的术语，包括子宫内膜异位症、外阴痛、膀胱疼痛综合征和子宫腺肌病。鉴于对插入式性行为、生育能力和潜在母性的影响，CPP 还可能影响女性作为妻子或伴侣、母亲和女性的身份。本研究的目的是探讨子宫内膜异位症和非子宫内膜异位症相关 CPP 女性经历的异同。共有 17 名年龄介于 21 至 48 岁的参与者参加了三个焦点小组。使用反身主题分析发现了三个主要主题：挣扎的女人、闻所未闻的女人和自我沉默的女人。女性，无论其 CPP 的原因是什么，都报告说对她们的亲密关系、生育能力、和育儿，但那些患有非子宫内膜异位症 CPP 的人经常报告说，由于讨论他们的外阴疼痛的“禁忌”性质，在工作场所沟通骨盆疼痛时遇到更大的困难。许多参与者描述了骨盆疼痛的社会正常化如何导致女性沉默她们的经历，使她们的疼痛隐形。虽然女性希望通过寻求信息和支持来抵制这种沉默，但患有非子宫内膜异位症 CPP 的女性描述的获得可靠信息资源或网络以获得支持的途径较少。