Gemma Barry is a Well Woman Specialist (and a comedian!), helping those with period dramas and hormonal mayhem. She helps women take back control of their lives and their menstrual cycle.
Gemma has over a decade of experience as a nurse and has trained in many different holistic therapies. Gemma is also a mindfulness practitioner, herbalist, and bodywork therapist (sports, therapeutic, lymphatic, myofascial massage, reflexology, and mizan (pelvic massage).
As a stand-up comedian, Gemma also wrote a show called Flaps of Steel that she performed at the Women in Comedy Festival in 2021.
Gemma worked in birth and pregnancy before becoming interested in women’s health after her diagnosis of Endometriosis, Adenomyosis and a large ovarian cyst. Appalled that her only option was to either take hormones or have a hysterectomy, she decided to see if she could deal with this with the knowledge that she had. She is now symptom-free and has a quality of life she didn’t have before.
Through her own lived experience, Gemma created The Well Woman Project, where she has gone on to help many women with various hormonal and period issues over the years.
Gemma observed the systemic bias within the medical field, particularly concerning women’s pain and gynaecological issues. A narrative that deems pain and periods as normal hinders timely diagnosis, as women often face disbelief due to this ingrained narrative prevalent in both society and global medicine.
But she discovered something.
Gemma discovered that when women have a better understanding of their bodies, they can start to advocate for better care; outcomes improve and this education is something we should have at school.
Hormones are in everyone, not just those with a uterus. Our periods are much more than having children. They are needed for us to be healthy, and if our periods are not healthy, it signifies that something in our body isn’t happy. There is a massive gap in research about this, and it is time for that to change.
Gemma has perfected the art of making these seemingly challenging conversations humorous and finds it fulfilling to help her fellow women have pain-free periods and take back control of their lives.
