--- title: Do social workers know about PMS and PMDD, and do they ask mothers about these problems? description: Most of the 521 social workers surveyed had little knowledge of PMS and PMDD even though many had experienced it themselves, and the 16 interviewed said they url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/we-talk-about-penises-and-vaginas-but-we-dont-talk-about-pms-canadian-social-2025/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Do social workers know about PMS and PMDD, and do they ask mothers about these problems? Study, 2025 # Do social workers know about PMS and PMDD, and do they ask mothers about these problems? Most of the 521 social workers surveyed had little knowledge of PMS and PMDD even though many had experienced it themselves, and the 16 interviewed said they did not ask mothers about it even though they thought they should. Moderate study design 521 Canadian social workers, with 16 interviewed in detail ## What they did Researchers surveyed 521 Canadian social workers about their knowledge of PMS and PMDD. Then they interviewed 16 of these social workers in detail to understand their knowledge and whether they assess mothers for these conditions. ## What they found Four major themes emerged: 1) Many social workers had personal experience with PMS or PMDD; 2) Despite being highly educated, most had little knowledge of PMS and PMDD; 3) None recalled clients telling them about PMS or PMDD; 4) Although many thought PMS and PMDD should be included in assessing mothers, these social workers did not actually ask mothers about their experiences. ## What it means for you Even professionals who work with mothers and are well-educated don't know much about PMS and PMDD, and they aren't asking mothers about these problems. This means many mothers might not get help because social workers aren't thinking about it. A limit is this is only from Canada and only from social workers, so other types of healthcare providers might be different. 521 Social workers surveyed 16 Social workers interviewed in detail ## About the study Original title “We Talk About Penises and Vaginas, But We Don’t Talk About PMS”: Canadian Social Workers’ Knowledge of Premenstrual Symptoms and Their Assessment Practices with Mothers Authors Lynn Barry, Leslie Maureen Tutty Journal Women s Reproductive Health Year 2025 Study design Study Participants 521 Read the paper [doi.org/10.1080/23293691.2025.2491005](https://doi.org/10.1080/23293691.2025.2491005) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Work and productivity](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-work/)[Stigma, attitudes and culture](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-stigma-culture/) Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits. Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor. ## Related studies Cohort study, 2023 Is PMDD a valid medical diagnosis? Review, 2026 How do social factors like stigma and unequal care responsibilities affect premenstrual symptoms? Guideline, 2021 How do premenstrual symptoms affect women's work performance and attendance? Survey study, 2000 How does PMS severity affect whether women seek treatment for PMS? Survey study, 2026 How aware are female students of PMDD and how does it affect their schoolwork? Survey study, 2025 How common is PMS or PMDD in Indian women and how much do they know about it? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗