#OwnYourMenopause
The new Menopause Charity launches the #OwnYourMenopause campaign to bust myths and support women and health professionals.
The Charity is offering one free professionally accredited Confidence in the Menopause course to every GP practice in the UK.
Join the campaign and donate to change women’s lives.
The Menopause Charity launched on Friday, May 14 to campaign for better menopause care and education worldwide, helping women take control of their health and hormones. There are 13 million menopausal women in the UK, including 4.5 million at work, and the charity wants to ensure access to fact-based information and hormone replacement therapy for those who need it.
Following the Channel 4 documentary Davina McCall: Sex, Myths and the Menopause on May 12, which exposed the stories of British women left without the healthcare, HRT and support they needed, there has been an outcry on social and other media, and a demand for change.
Davina McCall is an ambassador for The Menopause Charity and said: “I don’t think I’ve ever worked on a project that has affected me so deeply. I got home after filming and sometimes I just sat down and cried from deep frustration and anger at how we are failing women. That’s why I am supporting The Menopause Charity. This issue isn’t just for menopausal women, it’s for their partners, their fathers, their brothers, their daughters and their sons. We’re all in this together. For far too long, there’s been a shroud of embarrassment, shame and fear around this topic, and this is where it stops.”
Set up by a group of medical professionals, women’s health activists and patient advocates, the charity maintains its independence by refusing donations from pharmaceutical companies. The charity’s other ambassadors are television presenter Lorraine Kelly CBE, wellness expert and author Liz Earle MBE, and former Team GB Olympian Michelle Griffith Robinson OLY.
The charity’s founder, GP and Menopause Specialist Dr Louise Newson, said: “Far too many women are being denied access to their own hormones during and after their menopause, which is leading to often devastating symptoms and this also has health risks. The menopause guidelines clearly state that taking HRT provides more benefits than risks for the majority of women, yet only the minority of women currently take HRT. There are many long-term health benefits of taking HRT including a lower future risk of heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and dementia. The Menopause Charity is determined to enable women to access evidence-based care and treatment – we want to make menopause symptoms and suffering history.”
In a survey[i], one third of healthcare professionals said they were not confident in treating the menopause, and The Menopause Charity’s first action is to offer one free, professionally accredited Confidence in the Menopause remote course to each GP practice, working in partnership with FourteenFish medical education and the non-profit Newson Health Research and Education. Health professionals can sign up at www.themenopausecharity.org
Dr Radhika Vohra, a GP and educator, and Trustee of The Menopause Charity said: “As a GP during this pandemic, I’ve seen the fundamental role Primary Care plays in the lives of our patients. Women have had a particularly tough time, suffering from the misconceptions around perimenopause and menopause. As we’re expected to live and work longer, supporting other generations, we must ensure that all women who suffer from hormone deficiency in menopause are given the best care, counselling and treatment. This won’t just help women, but the future of our health service.”
[i] https://www.bjfm.co.uk/more-education-needed-regarding-the-menopause-in-primary-care
