Claire Archibald, a newly elected Reform UK Member of the Senedd (MS) for Ceredigion Penfro, has spoken publicly about her 35-year struggle with endometriosis and adenomyosis, using her platform to demand better women's health services in Wales.
Archibald, 53, has endured horrific pain, extreme bleeding, heart palpitations, repeated urine infections, and painful sex since she was 13. The symptoms forced her to give up gymnastics and swimming, and she has undergone five surgeries, including three after which she fell pregnant. Her diagnosis took seven years, a figure she notes is shorter than the current average of nine years and 11 months for women in Wales.
A lifetime of pain and surgeries
Growing up in Pembroke, she would miss two or three days of school each month due to heavy bleeding. On one occasion, she collapsed outside Pembroke Castle from the pain. Her first pregnancy ended in loss at 13 weeks, but after her daughter Megan was born in 2004, she sought a hysterectomy. After a coil was removed due to pain and tranexamic acid made her bleed more, she was eventually offered a hysterectomy by a junior doctor, only to be told days later that a consultant deemed her unsuitable. "I was heartbroken," she said.
Entering perimenopause at 44, her periods became sporadic but "absolutely horrific" when they came. Last year, she sought a hysterectomy privately, but discovered her womb had become stuck to her bowel, meaning removal would require a colostomy bag. "So that's a no. So I'm going to have to live with that," she said, adding that if the surgery had been done sooner, she wouldn't have that issue.
From stay-at-home mum to Senedd
Archibald's career has spanned hair and beauty, fresh food management, caring, and 12 years as a stay-at-home mum, which she called "the best job I have ever had." She entered politics in 2024 after her husband told her to stop shouting at the TV and do something about it. A former Tory voter, she joined Reform UK and was elected in May.
She is using her new role to advocate for women's health, particularly the largest endometriosis centre in Wales, in Cardiff, which faces losing its accreditation this December. More than 11,000 people have signed a petition against its downgrade. "What are you going to tell patients? What are you actually going to say to them? 'Oh, well, yeah, we're going to just close this unit because we can't staff it'," she said.
A call for better services and awareness
Archibald worries about the impact of losing the centre, noting the nine-year waitlist and the lack of specialist services in Wales. "There are one in 10 women who suffer from endometriosis. I've suffered with it for 35 years – I don't want 17-, 18-, 19-year-olds to not have the chance that I did to get that service," she said. She urges women to "be really bolshy, be pushy" and stresses that "you know your body."
She also wants teachers to be more aware of the condition, which can affect women from 11 to 65 and beyond. "It's not just a monthly thing. People think, 'Oh, endometriosis, it's just once a month when you bleed'. It's not – it can be anytime." Her biggest message to sufferers: "You're not alone."
