For generations, women have accepted discomfort as part of healthcare.

From painful procedures to symptoms that are dismissed or minimized, many women have learned to push through experiences they would never encourage a loved one to endure. That mindset extends to routine gynecological care, where an uncomfortable exam has long been seen as an unavoidable part of preventive health care.

The metal speculum, a device used during pelvic exams and Pap smears, has remained largely unchanged for more than a century. According to a recent survey on women’s gynecological care, nearly three-quarters of women have delayed or avoided annual gynecological exams. Discomfort, anxiety, and fear of the pelvic exam remain significant factors.

That reality has inspired a growing conversation about whether women should continue accepting a standard of care that many find distressing, especially when preventive screenings play such an important role in detecting cervical cancer, sexually transmitted infections, and other health concerns.

Actress and women’s health advocate Halle Berry is helping lead that conversation through her partnership and investment in Nella, a company seeking to modernize one of women’s healthcare’s most familiar tools.

Women’s Healthcare And A Tool Frozen In Time

The speculum has a complicated history. As detailed by PBS’s history of the speculum, the device has existed in various forms for centuries. Yet, the modern version used in many gynecological offices today remains remarkably similar to earlier designs.

For countless women, the anticipation of a pelvic exam creates anxiety long before they enter the exam room. The sound of metal instruments, concerns about pain, and feelings of vulnerability can discourage patients from scheduling appointments altogether.

Berry says those experiences are part of a larger pattern in which women have been conditioned to place their own needs behind everyone else’s.

“I think we’ve been taught to just white-knuckle it,” Berry says. “We’ve been made to believe that as mothers our job is to take care of everybody else.”

She acknowledges that many women would move mountains for their children, partners, or aging parents while postponing their own care.

That dynamic carries consequences. Preventive care works best when women consistently attend appointments, complete screenings, and address concerns before they become larger health issues.

Women’s Healthcare And The Cost Of Delayed Care

One statistic particularly resonated with Berry when she first learned about Nella.

“What was staggering for me to learn,” she says, “is 72% of women delay their exams.”

Those missed appointments represent more than a skipped Pap smear.

“When you don’t go to your yearly Pap exam, guess what else you miss out on?” Berry says. “You don’t get a breast exam, you don’t get a cervical exam. There are so many aspects of your health that you miss out on.”

For women balancing careers, caregiving responsibilities, household management, and family obligations, preventive care often drops to the bottom of the list. The challenge becomes even greater when the experience itself feels unpleasant or anxiety-inducing.

Healthcare providers have spent years encouraging women to prioritize screenings. Yet many patients continue to avoid appointments because the process itself remains stressful.

That raises an important question: If a significant barrier has been identified, why hasn’t the experience changed more dramatically?

Women’s Healthcare And A New Approach To Comfort

Nella’s answer is a redesign that aims to make pelvic exams more comfortable.

The company’s Nella Comfort Kit First Visit and Nella Comfort Kit Menopause feature a speculum made from smooth materials and sized closer to a tampon than the traditional metal device many women associate with pelvic exams.

For Berry, the innovation represents more than a new product.

“It’s shifting because of companies like Nella,” she says. “They’re putting money and dollars behind revolutionary products that are changing our experience.”

She also points to another factor that influenced her decision to become an investor.

“Nella’s speculum is something designed for women by women,” Berry says. “When I found out that a woman designed this for women, I started to feel instantly that we do have power. We can change our future.”

The conversation around comfort may sound simple, but many advocates argue that comfort has often been treated as optional in women’s healthcare. That perception is beginning to shift as more women openly discuss their experiences and demand better solutions.

Berry believes visibility plays a major role in that progress.

“I started talking about menopause and vaginal atrophy four years ago, and everybody thought I was crazy,” she says. “But it’s happening. It’s normal.”

Women’s Healthcare And The Conversations Mothers Are Having

One aspect of the partnership that resonates deeply with Berry involves intergenerational conversations.

As the mother of a teenage daughter, she sees education as one of the most effective ways to reduce fear and shame around reproductive health.

“I started talking to her when she got her first cycle,” Berry says. “I tried to destigmatize it and make her understand how normal it was.”

She also believes girls benefit when they understand that every phase of womanhood deserves attention and respect.

“I tried to educate her on the other phases to come,” Berry says. “Every phase of life as a woman is important.”

That message is particularly relevant at a time when conversations about menstruation, fertility, menopause, and sexual health are becoming more visible.

Women are increasingly sharing experiences that previous generations often kept private. Social media, advocacy groups, and public figures have helped normalize discussions that were once considered taboo.

Berry hopes that openness continues.

“The more empowered we feel, the more we talk about it,” she says. “The more normalized it will become.”

Women’s Healthcare And Access For More Women

Innovation only matters if women can access it.

That reality influenced another major step for the company: a retail partnership that will place Nella products in Walmart stores nationwide.

Berry believes accessibility is central to improving preventive care.

“It’s really important that all women have access to these new products and these new technologies,” she says.

She also notes that widespread retail availability helps eliminate practical barriers.

“Everyone knows where a Walmart is,” Berry says. “And everyone knows that if it’s at Walmart, it’s pretty affordable.”

Affordability remains a major concern across women’s healthcare. From fertility treatment to preventive screenings, cost frequently influences whether women seek care.

Making products available through large retailers broadens access beyond major metropolitan areas and specialty practices.

Women’s Healthcare And Giving Women A Voice

For Nella founder Fahti Khosrowshahi, the conversation extends beyond a single device.

She believes many women never tell their healthcare providers when an exam is uncomfortable.

“There are a lot of doctors who are very passionate about women’s healthcare and care deeply about their patients,” Khosrowshahi says. “But as women, we don’t express our discomfort or pain to our clinicians.”

The comfort kit, she says, can create an opening for those conversations.

“It empowers women,” Khosrowshahi says. “And it opens a new channel of dialogue with clinicians.”

She has also heard from women whose concerns extend beyond physical discomfort.

Many have shared experiences involving sexual trauma, anxiety, or fear related to gynecological exams.

“For them, these exams are extremely anxiety-inducing,” Khosrowshahi says.

That feedback reinforced her belief that women deserve options that acknowledge both the physical and emotional aspects of care.

Women’s Healthcare And Raising Expectations

For more than a century, the speculum has remained largely unchanged. Women adapted. They endured discomfort. Many appointments were delayed altogether.

Today’s conversation suggests a growing willingness to challenge those assumptions.

Women are asking why preventive care should feel intimidating. They are questioning whether discomfort should be accepted as inevitable. They are expecting healthcare experiences that reflect modern understanding of patient needs.

The discussion surrounding Nella reflects a broader cultural shift. Women increasingly recognize that their health deserves attention before a crisis emerges. They are speaking openly about menopause, fertility, pelvic health, cancer screening, and preventive care. They are also asking healthcare systems to meet them halfway.

Berry hopes more women act on that awareness.

“We do have to start,” she says. “If we’re not healthy, then what happens to our families?”

For many women, that question may be the most important reason of all to schedule the appointment they’ve been putting off.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com