Menopause is an inevitable reality for all women who have their monthly period. However, it hasn’t always received the attention owing to it… until now.
Most recently menopause has gained attention as a healthcare and policy priority. In the United States, 20 bills addressing menopause care have been introduced across 13 states. These developments propose legislative frameworks aimed at improving insurance coverage and access to healthcare resources for menopausal women.
Backing these proposed support systems are public figures like Oprah Winfrey and Halle Berry!
Iconic media personality Oprah Winfrey has openly discussed how menopause impacted her own life. She recently raised the topic during a panel conversation and explained how she began experiencing debilitating symptoms like heart palpitations in her late forties. She said that doctors failed to explain to her how these heart palpitations and other symptoms she was experiencing were linked with menopause.
Oprah believes it is important for women to share their experiences of menopause, as understanding the root cause of the symptoms and receiving the necessary support during this period of life can make all the difference.
The breaking news items speaking of the new bills introduced across the 13 states, explain that menopausal symptoms can often be so severe and varied that some women feel like they are dying. Oprah explains she has been just one of these man women.
Together with Halle Berry and other celebrities, these women are trying to change the narrative around menopause and to ensure sufficient insurance coverage and support is afforded to women whose lives have been heavily impacted by menopause.
Reports say that Halle Berry recently appeared remotely before the Maine legislature. This was to show her support for a bill aimed at promoting both perimenopause and menopause education.
A Challenge Requiring Societal Support
The physical, emotional and mental symptoms of living with menopause can create many challenges for women and it is for this reason that women living with menopause have been identified as a priority.
Unknown to most, the symptoms of menopause can last as long as seven years, as hormonal changes wreak havoc across the body’s systems.
The symptoms usually begin years before one’s last period and then 4-and-a-half years after. Most women will start to go through menopause around 51 years of age.
Menopause doesn’t just affect your reproductive system. It can also have other debilitating effects. These can include health issues like thyroid dysfunction, low energy and inflammation. During this time, cholesterol levels might fluctuate and risk of heart disease could also jump with hormone declines. During this period, common symptoms such as brain fog, mood swings, hot flashes and sleep problems might also occur.
Mental health can also take a hit as the body undergoes significant changes. This, accompanied by aging parents and children going through teen years or leaving the nest, might exacerbate stress.
A Need for More Education On Menopause
This new legislative development highlights the need for women – and men – to be better educated on menopause, and its preceding condition, pre-menopause.
Actress Gillian Anderson of X Files fame says of the condition: “It was at the point that I felt like my life was falling apart around me that I started to ask what could be going on internally, and friends suggested it might be hormonal…I was used to being able to balance a lot of things, and all of a sudden I felt like I could handle nothing. I felt completely overwhelmed.”
Actress Kim Cattrall says: “Literally one moment you’re fine, and then another, you feel like you’re in a vat of boiling water, and you feel like the rug has been pulled out from underneath you.”