We have made a silent pact in our society only to discuss women’s bodies when carrying babies; after that, menopausal women are put out to pasture. What makes this experience so taboo to discuss when it affects half the population for anywhere between seven and fourteen years of adulthood? We have severe gaps in menopause knowledge, as referenced in this National Institute of Health article. Middle age women undergo physical and emotional changes as complex as adolescents undergoing puberty. We need a lot more information about women undergoing pre and post-menopause.
Menopause occurs when menstruation stops due in part to a drop in circulating blood oxygen levels, according to the World Health Organization. Most women experience menopause around their mid-40s to mid-50s. It is marked by not having a period for twelve months and confirmed with a simple blood test.
During my childbearing years, I had access to books on pregnancy, conception, miscarriages, and more. I felt well-equipped to make informed choices about my reproductive health primarily because a medical area of study is dedicated to this period of woman’s lives.
But, what happens next?
Once I hit menopause, that same level of knowledge, information, and resources stopped. Thankfully, the minuscule information you can get from an outdated trifold pamphlet in your OB/GYN’s office is finally seeping into podcasts and onto bookshelves. Listening to a few podcasts is how I first realized I should be having this conversation about the changes I was experiencing with a healthcare provider. At my annual visit to my gynecologist’s office, I asked questions, such as “Is hormone replacement therapy an option for me?” My physician had nothing to offer me. I knew more about menopause from listening to podcasts.
How could such an educated woman work in an OB/GYN office without being able to share basic menopausal information? Why isn’t this part of the basic training in medical school, especially if you choose to go into the field of woman’s health — seeing as women of childbearing age are not the only women walking this earth?
Studies show different factors contribute to the length and symptoms of menopause, from lifestyle choices such as drinking or smoking to biological characteristics including race, age of first period, number of pregnancies, and physical activity levels.
When I became frustrated at my doctor’s inability to offer minor details, I asked if anyone could. I was referred to Dr. Holly L. Thacker at the Cleveland Clinic. Thacker and her resident emphatically agreed with my frustration about the lack of knowledge in this critical stage of a woman’s life. We discussed at length the PR problem that hormone replacement therapy has, and I told Dr. Thacker about my mom’s history of uterine cancer that she suspected was from taking hormones.
Not only was the HRT different 30 years ago, but many of them didn’t do a combination of estrogen and progesterone, not to mention, as I stated earlier, HRT got bad press. There have been so many conflicting results from different research that has been presented to the public, according to a 2019 study published in the peer-reviewed journal, Medicina. If you don’t have data and funding to back up your findings, people hear a story and are too frightened to try HRT. We need woman’s health monetarily supported.
From my independent studies, if you are interested in pursuing your education on menopause, I would recommend the “Body Stuff with Dr. Jen Gunther” pocast episode, “Is menopause the beginning of the end?” Dr. Gunther addresses the stigma around menopause. She talks about not needing to suffer in silence and that menopause is a normal biological event. The fear isn’t innate. I also found her book “The Menopause Manifesto” resourceful and full of information. There is a wealth of knowledge out there by reputable sources, we just need to dig for them.
The decrease in estrogen that comes with menopause doesn’t just affect things we commonly associate with getting older, such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness. It also regulates critical skeletal and cardiovascular health, including blood flow circulation and central nervous system processes, studies show.
I chose to start HRT when I learned how necessary estrogen is to such vital functions in our bodies, and how starting this intervention sooner can help alleviate some risk factors as I grow older. I did not start HRT because I had unbearable hot flashes or stereotypical menopausal symptoms.
I am not advocating for anyone to start taking HRT without speaking to a knowledgeable healthcare provider; I am advocating for this subject to garner more of the medical community’s attention, resources, and support. I also advocate for women to make choices about their bodies that they think would better serve them physically and emotionally. HRT isn’t for everyone, but white-knuckling it through menopause isn’t your only option.
Menopausal women are an undervalued demographic. This age group often has already raised children and has more free time. They are experienced and can sometimes offer valuable life lessons at work, in our communities, and in homes. To be able to pass this vital information and experience on, we need to be able to understand our bodies.
This healthcare segment needs to be funded and staffed, and more frequently included in reproductive rights and accessibility discourse. Let’s consider and maybe question why our patriarchal society, has chosen not to research woman’s health when it comes to this stage of our lives, especially regarding women’s health.
Dr. Jen Gunther says, “Menopause shouldn’t be viewed as the end of the race, but rather a victory lap.”
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