How Menopause Got Left Out of the Women’s Health Conversation

Menopause is arguably the most taboo and satirized time in a woman’s life. From television shows and films to greeting cards, the prevailing message is that the end of your period also marks the end of your youth and being seen as a sexual being. The result is a pervasive shame and embarrassment that prevents women from having open and honest conversations about a natural biological process that every female will experience later in life. This is particularly alarming when its accompanying symptoms – hot flashes, bone density loss, pelvic organ prolapse, depression, and an increased risk of serious diseases, among many others – are no laughing matter.

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The simple answer to why menopause is left out of the women’s healthcare conversation is no one wants to talk about menstruation, period. Most young girls’ education about their cycle is limited to hushed conversations with family members, friends, and school health curriculums, leading them to seek more comprehensive information from the internet, which is inconsistent and oftentimes inaccurate.

But as archaic as those health classes may be, there’s no mandatory course for women going through menopause. One would assume that women’s healthcare professionals are reliable go-to resources for women, but the reality is few prepare their patients for the average perimenopause and menopause timelines, potential symptoms, and treatments available, let alone support them through the process. This is, in part, due to the fact that doctors are exceptionally uneducated about it.

A recent study by The Menopause Society found that only 3 out of 10 medical programs include training in menopause. Ana Gonzalez Herera, founder of The Period Academy, points to several other factors, including doctors’ reluctance to spend the extra time beyond an annual physical to educate their patients, women not feeling comfortable talking to their healthcare providers, and limited funding from the U.S. healthcare system. “[It] might not provide incentives or resources for healthcare providers to offer comprehensive menopause counseling or education,” she says.

Menopause not only indicates the end of a woman’s fertility but forces them to face the reality of getting older, which has no positive upshot in our society. We live in a culture obsessed with chasing the mythical fountain of youth rather than embracing the beauty that comes with age, making it difficult for women to feel relevant or seen. “There is not, and never has been, a reward for reaching this milestone. Also, historically menopause in many cultures marks the end of fertility, and therefore, [women’s] perceived cultural value,” says Karla F. Loken, DO, OBGYN, FACOOG, and chief medical officer at FEMSelect.

Unfortunately, it’s an uphill battle to flip the script when the beauty, health, and cosmetics industries rake in billions of dollars yearly from anti-aging products, procedures, supplements, and treatments. These numbers are projected to reach new heights in the next decade. To put this in perspective, the global cosmetics industry grossed an estimated 60 billion dollars in anti-aging products in 2021 and is expected to spike to 120 billion by 2030.

Female friendships typically beget a sisterhood of support, but the silence and stigmas attached to menopause cause women to feel uncomfortable talking about it even with their closest friends and end up going through these changes and challenges alone. An Instagram search for #menopause yielded 1.5 million posts, along with other popular hashtags, including #MenopauseSupport (301K posts), #MenopauseRelief (182K posts) and #MenopauseSymptoms (174K posts). While social media may help women feel less alone, it should only serve as a conduit toward legitimate medical advice and care.

In order to normalize conversations around menopause, ageism needs to be reappropriated too. Herera suggests we do this by “educating both women and men about menopause, when it typically occurs, and what physical and emotional changes women may experience during this phase. We also need to create community-based support groups where women can openly discuss their experiences with menopause, share advice, and offer emotional support. These safe spaces foster open conversations,” she says.

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Age, after all, is just a number. Women should be encouraged to feel beautiful in their own skin, no matter what those digits may be. And because, at some point, menopause is something all women will relate to, sharing your experience will help break the silence surrounding it.