Let's Remove The Uterus
- Madhukar Dama
- Jul 19
- 14 min read
The Institutional Betrayal Behind the Epidemic of Unnecessary Hysterectomies in India and Beyond
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INTRODUCTION
> “It’s better to remove it.”
“You don’t need it anymore.”
“Let’s just do the surgery and end the suffering.”
These are not random words. These are trained, rehearsed, normalized phrases used in clinics and hospitals across India every single day. For menstrual cramps. For mild fibroids. For back pain. For vague scan shadows. For being a woman.
This exposé uncovers how the phrase “Let’s remove the uterus” has become the modern shorthand for medical gaslighting, cost-cutting, and erasure of womanhood.
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SECTION 1: THE SCALE OF THE CRISIS
Lakhs of women across India undergo hysterectomy before age 40.
In Beed (Maharashtra), 1 in 3 women in some communities has had it removed.
In Telangana and Andhra, sugarcane workers are routinely sterilized or hysterectomized to make them "fit to work.”
Across India’s private hospitals, it’s a cash cow: ₹30,000–₹2,00,000 per case.
Globally, it is among the top 5 most common surgeries on women.
👉 This is not care. This is systematic womb harvesting.
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SECTION 2: THE LANGUAGE OF SURGICAL COERCION
The womb is dismissed in casual tones:
“It’s just a bag.”
“You’ve finished your family, right?”
“Better to remove than regret.”
“Why suffer every month?”
“We’ll clean the system.”
These phrases are not medical guidance. They are conversion tactics, used to flip fear, fatigue, or frustration into false consent.
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SECTION 3: WHY THE UTERUS STILL MATTERS – AT EVERY AGE
> “The uterus is only for making babies” — this is a lie.
It continues to regulate hormones even after menopause.
It supports the structure of bladder, bowel, and pelvic floor.
It helps prevent incontinence, prolapse, and bone loss.
It plays a role in emotional and sexual well-being.
Its removal accelerates aging, depression, joint pain, and brain fog.
👉 Removing it doesn’t just stop periods. It stops something deeper—your natural rhythm.
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SECTION 4: WHO PROFITS FROM YOUR HYSTERECTOMY?
Doctors get large cuts per surgery.
Hospitals fill beds, labs, follow-ups, meds.
Insurance companies use it to lock higher premiums.
Medical device firms sell laparoscopes, sutures, meshes.
Pharma giants gain lifelong HRT, calcium, and antidepressant users.
Wellness industries sell creams, yoga, therapy, hormone balancers.
👉 You lose an organ. They gain a customer for life.
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SECTION 5: WHY WOMEN AGREE — THE TRAP OF FAKE CONSENT
Because they are tired, ashamed, or dismissed.
Because the doctor said “Why keep it?”
Because someone said “It might be cancer.”
Because the pain was real—but the alternatives were never offered.
👉 They say yes to removal.
👉 But no one told them that fibroids shrink, bleeding reduces, pain heals, and wombs regenerate—when given proper rest and support.
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SECTION 6: WHAT HAPPENS AFTER?
Many women report:
Early menopause symptoms
Sudden depression or rage
Dryness, fatigue, or low libido
Weight gain, constipation, and joint pain
Feeling “empty” or “unnatural” inside
Lifelong dependency on supplements
But these are rarely discussed before surgery. Most are told: “You’ll feel lighter.”
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SECTION 7: THE 40+ REASONS THEY GIVE YOU – THE REALITY BEHIND THE RUSH
This is the core of the betrayal. Below are over 40 real-life reasons doctors give women across India and the world for removing their uterus — even when the situation does not warrant it.
Each excuse sounds convincing, even caring. But most are based on a mix of outdated science, patriarchal medicine, capitalist efficiency, and patient fatigue.
We expose them here — not to blame, but to warn, awaken, and protect.
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🔴 A. Menstrual Issues
1. “Too much bleeding during periods”
🧠 Logic: Excess blood loss = danger
❗ Flaw: Ignores lifestyle, gut-liver imbalance
✅ Fix: Castor oil packs, iron-rich foods, Guduchi, fasting
2. “Your periods are irregular – it could be something serious”
🧠 Logic: Create fear of cancer or precancer
❗ Flaw: Irregularity is common post 35
✅ Fix: Track cycle, nourish liver, reduce sugar
3. “You’re bleeding between periods – let’s remove the source”
🧠 Logic: Cut the organ to stop the symptom
❗ Flaw: Doesn't look for root cause (e.g., cervical erosion, infection)
✅ Fix: Castor oil, gut healing, kashayas
4. “Painful periods – likely endometriosis”
🧠 Logic: Label = license to operate
❗ Flaw: Endometriosis rarely justifies hysterectomy
✅ Fix: Anti-inflammatory diet, castor oil, womb rest
5. “You’re menopausal now – you don’t need it”
🧠 Logic: Uterus is only for reproduction
❗ Flaw: Uterus still supports bones, bladder, hormones
✅ Fix: Let menopause happen naturally with support
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🔴 B. Fibroids, Cysts, Shadows
6. “You have fibroids – they’ll keep growing”
🧠 Logic: Predict disaster to justify surgery
❗ Flaw: Most fibroids are benign and shrink naturally
✅ Fix: Belly packs, Ashoka bark, walk daily, quit dairy
7. “It’s a cyst – if it bursts, you’ll die”
🧠 Logic: Scare tactic
❗ Flaw: Over 80% of cysts resolve naturally
✅ Fix: Castor oil ovary packs, seed cycling, herbal teas
8. “You may have adenomyosis – only removal helps”
🧠 Logic: Hide behind difficult-to-prove diagnosis
❗ Flaw: Most cases manage well with inflammation control
✅ Fix: Reduce estrogen, oils, fasting, womb massage
9. “Your scan shows something dark – maybe cancer”
🧠 Logic: Suggest danger from vague reports
❗ Flaw: Shadows are common – rescan, biopsy first
✅ Fix: Don’t panic – monitor, adjust lifestyle
10. “Your uterus is enlarged – not normal”
🧠 Logic: “Normal” is used as a weapon
❗ Flaw: Enlarged womb can be due to fibroids or hormones
✅ Fix: Castor oil therapy, rest, and hormone rebalancing
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🔴 C. Post-Childbirth or "Family Complete" Excuses
11. “You’ve had all your children – what’s the use?”
❗ Flaw: Uterus still regulates hormones and organ structure
✅ Fix: Respect the womb beyond fertility
12. “You’re not planning more kids – so remove it”
❗ Flaw: Reduces woman to baby-making
✅ Fix: Protect organ integrity even after childbirth
13. “Your uterus is weak after birth – better to remove now”
❗ Flaw: Weakness is reversible with therapy and nutrition
✅ Fix: Bone broth, pelvic floor exercise, oils
14. “You had placenta issues – it might get infected”
❗ Flaw: Watch-and-wait works in most cases
✅ Fix: Herbal antimicrobials, rest, surveillance
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🔴 D. “Cancer Prevention” or Fear-Based Lies
15. “Better to remove before it becomes cancer”
❗ Flaw: Prophylactic hysterectomy is rarely ethical
✅ Fix: Monitor, detox, support body’s immunity
16. “Endometrial thickening – very risky”
❗ Flaw: Common in peri-menopause
✅ Fix: Reduce estrogen load, walk, castor oil
17. “Bleeding after menopause – remove immediately”
❗ Flaw: Can be minor cervical erosion, not malignancy
✅ Fix: Pap test, treat naturally if benign
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🔴 E. Infections, Pain, Prolapse
18. “Recurring vaginal infections – remove the uterus”
❗ Flaw: Uterus not the source of infection
✅ Fix: Gut flora, hygiene, fermented foods
19. “Pelvic pain = uterus problem”
❗ Flaw: Could be gut, muscle, trauma-related
✅ Fix: Deep breathing, castor oil massage, therapy
20. “You have prolapse – only surgery will help”
❗ Flaw: Most prolapses are mild and reversible
✅ Fix: Squats, vajrasana, oil massage
21. “You leak urine – remove uterus to make space”
❗ Flaw: Bladder issues need bladder support
✅ Fix: Pelvic floor work, posture correction
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🔴 F. Convenience & Productivity Excuses
22. “No uterus = no periods = easier life”
❗ Flaw: Easy doesn’t mean right
✅ Fix: Support your cycle, don’t eliminate it
23. “Periods make you weak – better stop them forever”
❗ Flaw: Cultural shame weaponized as medicine
✅ Fix: Build strength, not amputate rhythm
24. “You’re a laborer – bleeding affects work”
❗ Flaw: This is medical exploitation
✅ Fix: Restore dignity, not suppress biology
25. “Your husband hates period mess – do this for him”
❗ Flaw: Emotional blackmail
✅ Fix: Reclaim body boundaries
26. “Sex will improve – no fear of bleeding or pregnancy”
❗ Flaw: Many women report reduced libido after surgery
✅ Fix: Talk, not cut. Heal, don’t remove
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🔴 G. Hormonal Confusion & Manipulation
27. “Your hormones are gone – uterus is useless”
❗ Flaw: Hormonal feedback continues even after menopause
✅ Fix: Nourish remaining endocrine function
28. “HRT will handle everything after surgery”
❗ Flaw: Synthetic HRT causes side effects
✅ Fix: Use food-based, natural hormone support
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🔴 H. Imaging-Based Panic
29. “Scan shows something – can’t be sure what”
❗ Flaw: Uncertainty ≠ urgency
✅ Fix: Wait, rescan, seek multiple opinions
30. “Let’s remove to be on the safe side”
❗ Flaw: Surgery without diagnosis is malpractice
✅ Fix: Observe, test, detox, correct
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🔴 I. Cultural & Familial Pressure
31. “All women in this area get it done after 35”
❗ Flaw: Normalization of harm
✅ Fix: Educate and resist peer-pressure
32. “Your mother did it, you will too”
❗ Flaw: Her history ≠ your future
✅ Fix: Break generational trauma
33. “It will keep your body clean”
❗ Flaw: Deep misogyny
✅ Fix: Honor bleeding as detox, not dirt
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🔴 J. Cost, Systemic & Experimental Motives
34. “Treating it naturally will take too long – surgery is faster”
❗ Flaw: Shortcuts cause long-term damage
✅ Fix: Commit to healing, not rushing
35. “We’ll do it free in a health camp”
❗ Flaw: Mass removal drives are human rights crimes
✅ Fix: Avoid coercive “free” surgeries
36. “Student doctor needs a practice case”
❗ Flaw: Your body is not a lab rat
✅ Fix: Demand senior, ethical care
37. “It’s covered by your insurance – why not?”
❗ Flaw: Coverage ≠ necessity
✅ Fix: Value your organ over hospital profits
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🔴 K. Emotional Reasons (Often Unspoken)
38. “I’m tired of this body – remove the source of trouble”
❗ Flaw: Pain deserves rest, not removal
✅ Fix: Healing rituals, therapy, support
39. “I was sexually abused – I want it gone”
❗ Flaw: Trauma response, not medical logic
✅ Fix: Body healing through safety, not surgery
40. “I don’t feel like a woman anymore – remove it all”
❗ Flaw: Depression masked as surgery consent
✅ Fix: Love the body again, with help
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> And the list keeps growing.
But none of these address the real truth:
The uterus is not the problem. The system is.
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SECTION 8: WHAT YOU CAN DO INSTEAD
Daily castor oil belly pack (20 ml)
Warm local oil massage on lower abdomen
Drink kashayas (Ashoka, Lodhra, Guduchi)
Eat clean – no maida, milk, sugar, white rice, refined oil, sugar
Fast weekly (Ekadashi, Amavasya)
Walk barefoot, sleep early, reduce screen time
Work on pelvic strength with yoga, floor therapy
Use fermented foods – ambali, buttermilk, idli batter
👉 In 3–12 months, most of these gets better.
👉 Pain reduces. Bleeding regulates.
👉 The womb stays. Health returns.
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SECTION 9: IF IT'S TRULY NEEDED — HERE'S HOW YOU KNOW
Rare cases that do justify hysterectomy:
Uterine cancer (confirmed biopsy)
Unstoppable hemorrhage with shock
Ruptured uterus during childbirth or trauma
Complete prolapse with strangulation risk
👉 Even here, detailed explanation, second & third opinion (especially from a Non-Surgeon who says surgery should be last option) and time to decide are your right.
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SECTION 10: CONCLUSION – THE WOMB IS NOT SPARE PARTS
The uterus is not garbage.
It is not a liability.
It is not “extra” after childbirth.
It is not dangerous because it bleeds.
It is not a curse.
It is your inner drum, your emotional core, your healing centre.
Removing it out of fear, fatigue, or financial incentive is not medicine.
It is invisible violence dressed as care.
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EPILOGUE: A WOMAN WHO KEPT HER WOMB
She was 47.
Her doctor said, “It’s best to remove it.”
She said, “Give me six months.”
She fasted. Packed. Cried. Slept. Healed.
And in six months, her fibroid shrank by 70%.
She said:
> “My womb held me through rage, motherhood, silence, and now—rebirth. I’m not giving her up.”
A HEALING DIALOGUE
They Say It’s Better to Remove It" — One Woman’s Uterus, a Family's Awakening
[Setting: Early morning at Madhukar’s home. The air smells of warm castor oil. Radhamma (68), her daughter Savita (42), and granddaughter Meena (19) arrive quietly. Savita looks emotionally exhausted. Madhukar sits by a low table, grinding fresh leaves for kashaya. Anju peeks in, then vanishes. The dialogue begins.]
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Savita:
They told me yesterday. “Why suffer again and again? Let’s just remove it.”
Madhukar (looking up):
What was the complaint?
Savita (shrinking into herself):
Small pain on the left side. And the bleeding has been a bit off — sometimes early, sometimes late. That’s it. The scan showed nothing serious. Just said: “uterus mildly bulky.”
Radhamma (raising eyebrows):
And for that, they want to remove it?
Savita:
Yes. He said, “You’re not having more children. You’re already 42. Let’s clean the system.”
I said, “Can I try medicine first?” He said, “Why delay what’s anyway coming?”
Madhukar:
And what did you feel?
Savita (half-crying):
Like I’m just a used box. Once the child comes out, throw the box.
Meena (angrily):
They told my friend’s mother the same thing. She had slight discharge and tiredness. They said, “Maybe infection. Better to remove.”
Radhamma:
These days, uterus is like appendix. They just snatch it out.
Madhukar:
It’s become a factory habit.
Heavy bleeding? Remove.
Irregular cycle? Remove.
Mild pain? Remove.
Scan shadow? Remove.
No child coming? Remove.
Child already come? Remove.
Tired of being a woman? Remove.
Savita (softly):
He said I might get cancer if I keep delaying.
Madhukar:
Did he show any biopsy? Any evidence?
Savita:
No. Just scan and fear.
Madhukar (calm):
Let me tell you what’s going on.
Hospitals want neat outcomes.
Insurance wants closed cases.
Doctors don’t want follow-ups.
They get paid more for surgeries than healing.
And women?
Women are trained to believe:
“If you’re not reproducing, your uterus is a burden.”
That’s the lie.
Meena:
But why do so many agree?
Madhukar:
Because no one tells them the alternatives.
No one tells them the uterus still regulates hormones, bones, bladder.
No one tells them that vague pain can be healed with oil, fasting, sleep.
No one tells them that small cysts disappear on their own.
And no one tells them that emotional trauma often sits in the womb —
and surgery removes the symptom, but not the pain.
Savita:
They also said, “If you remove it, no more worry about pregnancy, periods, anything.”
Radhamma:
That’s not freedom. That’s forced peace.
Madhukar (gently):
Let me ask you this: If your eye waters every day, do you remove the eye?
No. You ask why.
Same with the womb. Ask why.
And usually, the answer is:
Food. Fatigue. Old trauma. Too much plastic. Too little rest.
The womb speaks when the woman is overloaded.
Savita:
But I’m scared. What if something is wrong?
Madhukar:
Then we find it slowly. Not by panicking.
We start with belly castor oil packs every morning.
20 ml on cloth, cover with plastic, lie down.
No white rice at night.
No dairy.
Rest after lunch.
Weekly fasting.
I’ll prepare a gentle herb mix — Ashoka, Guduchi, Shatavari.
We watch for 90 days.
Meena:
Amma, let’s try. If you still want the surgery later, fine. But not without trying.
Savita:
Okay. I’ll try. But tell me one thing — why do they do this so easily?
Madhukar:
Because they are not taught to heal.
They are taught to manage.
They are not trained in patience.
They are trained in closure.
And they don’t touch your life — only your lab report.
Radhamma:
That’s why we came here. You don’t touch machines. You touch people.
Madhukar (smiling):
And people heal slowly. But fully.
---
[Adhya brings warm buttermilk. Anju pops in again and says, “Ajji, don’t give away your golden drum.” Everyone laughs. Even Savita. There is space now — for slowness, for healing, for keeping the womb.]
“I Still Have My Womb” — A Quiet Victory
[Setting: 6 months later, same courtyard at Madhukar’s home. Early morning. The neem tree has shed its yellow leaves. Radhamma and Meena are already seated. Savita walks in, holding a brass pot of warm water. She looks different — lighter, calm, rooted.]
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Madhukar (smiling as he sees her):
You look like someone who slept well.
Savita (smiling back):
I did. For the first time in years, no cramps, no clotting, no fear.
Meena:
Her cycle is regular now. She notes the dates herself.
Radhamma (grinning):
She even scolds me now: “Amma, eat on time. Rest after lunch.”
Madhukar (writing in his notebook):
So… uterus intact. No surgery. No hospital.
Savita:
And no regrets.
Madhukar:
What changed?
Savita:
I slowed down.
I stopped blaming my body.
I stopped eating in a hurry.
I stopped hiding my pain.
I used the castor oil pack every single morning.
I stopped skipping sleep to finish housework.
And I started listening.
Madhukar:
To your womb?
Savita:
Yes.
It wasn’t diseased.
It was just unheard.
Meena (softly):
Her eyes don’t look tired anymore.
Radhamma:
And she talks less — but it goes deeper.
Madhukar (nodding):
The uterus is like an old tree. It doesn’t scream. It just sheds leaves slowly when neglected.
Savita:
That doctor called again last month. He asked, “So you still want the surgery?”
I said, “No. I want women to stop believing that cutting is care.”
Madhukar:
You’re ready to guide others?
Savita:
Already started.
Kusuma from our lane had the same story. Irregular periods, scan shadow, fear.
I took her to the field one evening and said:
“Your womb is not your enemy.
Your doctor is not your god.
Your pain is not final.”
She’s doing the pack now. I gave her some of your oil.
Madhukar (quietly):
That’s it. That’s healing.
One womb saved is one world unbroken.
Radhamma:
We came thinking you were a doctor.
But you were just a man who trusted nature.
Madhukar:
No one heals anyone, ajji.
We just remove the noise…
and wait.
---
[A gentle breeze passes. A koel calls. Anju skips by and whispers to Savita: “Tell your womb thank you.” Savita closes her eyes and smiles. The story is over. The womb is still here. The woman is still whole.]
Let’s Remove the Uterus,” She Said
they said she was bleeding
but not dying,
just inconvenient.
they said she was too tired
to be whole anymore.
they said the uterus was
done.
finished.
a chapter.
a bag.
a leftover.
a burden.
they wrapped it in scan reports,
shadows,
words like bulky
and irregular
and might become.
they sat in white chairs
in white rooms
with white coats
and no shame,
and said,
“Let’s remove it.”
---
she said her back hurt.
they said, uterus.
she said her periods were off.
they said, uterus.
she said she was sad.
they said, uterus.
she said she didn’t feel seen.
they said, remove it and feel light.
she said, is this healing?
they said, this is protocol.
---
no one asked
how she breathed
how she slept
what she lost
what she carried
what she swallowed
what she bled
every month
without a word.
---
they blamed the drum
for the noise
but never asked
who was beating it.
---
they said,
“Your family is complete.”
as if the womb was
a conveyor belt,
not a cave of rhythm.
they said,
“No more children, no more need.”
as if the only worth of her organ
was the child it once held.
---
she said,
“I feel like something’s wrong inside.”
they said,
“Let’s remove what’s inside.”
---
no talk of
gut,
liver,
trauma,
milk,
grief,
white sugar,
white rice,
white lies.
just white gloves,
scalpels,
and discharge sheets
saying
"diagnosis: done."
---
they said,
“It’s better to be safe.”
but no one warned her
that safety would feel
so hollow,
so joint-ache heavy,
so dry-mouthed,
so sexless,
so sad,
so old
so fast.
---
they said,
“You’ll feel free.”
but freedom that begins
with cutting
usually ends
with buying.
pills for bones.
capsules for moods.
creams for dryness.
yoga for emptiness.
therapy for regret.
calcium for betrayal.
---
her granddaughter asked,
“Where did your womb go?”
she said,
“Nowhere.”
but her voice
cracked in the middle.
---
in another village,
they offered her the same deal:
Free surgery. Free pain.
Free sterilization.
Free removal of noise
they couldn’t explain.
they said,
“You’re too poor to wait.”
but the womb was never asking for money.
it was asking for silence.
for warm oil.
for undisturbed fasting.
for soft floors and early nights.
for someone to say:
stay.
---
one woman said no.
and the world didn’t change.
but her blood did.
her sleep did.
her bones remembered.
she didn’t remove the womb.
she removed the rush.
---
this poem
is for the woman who said wait.
this poem
is for the uterus that whispered
through discharge and fatigue and clots and rage —
don’t give me up
just because you’re tired.
---
it’s not the uterus
that should be removed.
it’s the system
that turns care
into cutting.
that turns women
into post-surgical customers.
remove
the factory.
remove
the assembly line.
remove
the shame.
but let the drum
stay.
let it throb.
let it grieve.
let it sing.
let it bleed.
let it grow quiet
on its own
when it is time.
---
not because they said so.
not because it was scanned.
not because it is easier.
not because it is cheaper.
not because it is covered.
but because it has spoken,
been heard,
and rests
on its own terms.
—