In this seventh episode of Midwifery Hour series four, Sue Macdonald, Curator of the Midwifery Festivals; Co editor of Mayes Midwifery (16th Edition) was joined by Debra Holloway, Gynaecology Nurse Consultant and Chair of Women’s Health Forum, Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
The menopause will happen to all women and, as a largely female profession, midwives and student midwives need to know about it, for their own wellbeing and to support women and families who may request information and support.
Recent media coverage of the topic has been helpful in identifying some of the issues that women face at this time of their lives, some of the challenges and stigma women face and what information and treatments are available.
The menopause is a natural part of ageing that usually occurs between 45 and 55 years of age, as a woman’s oestrogen levels decline. In the UK, the average age for a woman to reach the menopause is 51. (NHS 2021) however POI ( menopause under 40) can happen at any time.
In this session Debra Holloway, Nurse Consultant discusses these issues, considers many treatments/therapies and approaches and how these can impact on women and their families, plus some share some useful resources.
Host Sue Macdonald was joined by Debra Holloway (Gynaecology Nurse Consultant and Chair of Women’s Health Forum, Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital NHS Foundation Trust).
Watch the Maternity & Midwifery Hour highlights now:
Debra Holloway
Sue Macdonald
Student, Rachel, has written a review of the hour:
In this week’s episode, Debra Holloway, a Recognised Menopause Specialist with the British Menopause Society, joined Sue MacDonald to discuss The Menopause.
Menopause can affect many aspects of a woman’s life. Many women are suffering from menopause, yet they suffer in silence for different reasons. 80% of women don’t seek treatment due to a variety of reasons, like being told that they just have to put up with this because every woman experiences it.
Menopause can directly impact a woman’s work life – women may work for 20-30 years with menopause. There can be a vicious cycle in the work environment where menopause symptoms impacts on a woman’s work (for example hot flushes and joint pains), but work can also impact on the symptoms and exacerbate them (for example wearing a uniform and high temperatures). It is very important to promote the normalcy of menopause in the work environment, so women don’t suffer in silence and changes can be made to make menopausal women more comfortable.
Menopause is a very individual experience. It is extremely different for everyone, from the age a woman may start menopause, if it occurred naturally or was induced, to the symptoms women experience, how impactful these symptoms are and how long they last for, and what treatment or combination of treatments helps to alleviate symptoms.
This was an invaluable discussion for anyone. We need to be able to talk openly about this normal experience which happens to every woman and the impact this can have on a woman’s entire life.
You can listen to the episode on your podcast app of choice: Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Anchor.
DATE FOR YOUR DIARY: The next episode airs on 26 May 2021 – register now.
Catch up on Series 1 – 4 here.
This hour was produced by Neil Stewart Associates and filmed by Narrowcast Media Group.