Empowering Women Through Menopause: A New Era of Women’s Health
Almost two weeks ago, I had the privilege of attending the Menopause Summit as a speaker, it was a pivotal event on so many levels, and I have been reflecting on why it resonated so deeply with me and so many other women who had the opportunity to attend.
The Menopause Summit was so much more than a conference about menopause. It was a dynamic and diverse event that gave vital agency and information to women of all ages, opening a treasure trove of resources they didn’t know they needed. I decided to capture my reflections of the Menopause Summit in this blog.
In our culture, menopause has traditionally found it’s place in the world of health services, overseen by medical professionals and often managed with a singular approach using medications. Having spent 35 years of my working life immersed in the clinical world of hospital and community health care, I learnt about menopause initially through a medical health lens. However, after a lived experience of a surgical menopause and some challenging health experiences that were not managed by medication alone, the holistic approach to educating and learning about menopause has become more important. This was the beauty of the Menopause Summit.
Delegates were treated to 2 jam-packed days of information, education, practical demonstrations and hands-on experiences. There was no session debating the merits or risks of hormone therapy and there was a balanced blend of speakers from allied health, medicine, holistic practitioners and ethical retailers.
This event spoke to my heart and my personal and professional passion of building a bridge between the medical world and the holistic health world, acknowledging the complex and diverse determinants of health and wellbeing. The Menopause Summit created a community of experts, speakers and champions who come from different spheres of practice but were united in their commitment to provide balanced information, that gives women a range of options and choices.
The Menopause Summit broke new ground, inviting women to explore and embrace a holistic view of menopause, one that acknowledges the broad impact of the physiological and psychosocial changes on our mind, our body and our social, cultural and spiritual experiences. Every speaker and session reinforced the importance of knowledge and self-empowerment through our midlife years and beyond. This was the essence of the Menopause Summit, an event that broke the mould of traditional menopause discussions and embraced a truly holistic approach to women’s health and the menopause transition.
A Season of Wisdom and Self-Discovery
In a world still grappling with ageism and gender biases, menopause is often viewed as a marker of decline, as if it somehow diminishes a woman’s value. Many women are on the receiving end of society’s harsh judgment and the narrative that we lose our value and place in society as we age. In some cultures, older women are revered and celebrated for their wisdom, emotional intelligence, and ability to connect generations, we so easily overlook the wise elders in the women around us. The Menopause Summit acknowledged the struggles many women face during this transition, but it encouraged us to recognise our value, to consider these years as an opportunity for renewal, a time to lean into our creativity, wisdom, and purpose.
With the right information, tools, and support, the menopause transition can be a time to invest in our long-term health outcomes, mitigate chronic disease, enhance emotional well-being and have something left in the tank to contribute to the world around us. Menopause is not an end, but the start of a new chapter, a season to prioritise our health and wellbeing for both ourselves and our communities.
The Power of Community
One of the most powerful takeaways for me was the sense of community that the summit created. As I connected with fellow speakers and delegates, I felt a deep sense of respect for the authentic value and worth of each woman. The importance of community during menopause is vital. Research shows that when women come together, sharing their experiences, challenges, and triumphs, we can empower each other in ways that no medication alone can achieve.
A supportive, non-judgmental space encourages growth, knowledge, and a sense of belonging. The summit was a unique event, creating a tangible space of safety and acceptance. It reinforced the value of the collective wisdom we accumulate in our communities and highlighted how important it is to connect with others who share similar challenges and experiences. When we come together in this way, we gain more than knowledge, we build agency and confidence, which in turn gives us greater control over our health and wellbeing. This reminds me of the value of peer support I have witnessed in supportive care in cancer support programs and chronic disease support groups, the evidence is compelling it can make a huge impact on emotional wellbeing … consider the impact if we had professional peer-support programs for the women who are truly struggling through the changes of the menopause transition.
Holistic Health Practices
The Summit placed a strong emphasis on exploring a range of holistic health practices, that complement traditional approaches. As a health professional and post-menopausal woman, I found this enlightening and empowering. The summit reinforced that managing health through menopause is not a one-size-fits-all approach. We must create a personalised health and wellness toolkit that reflects our individual epigenetics, our health history, our needs, preferences and circumstances.
The beauty of this summit was its celebration of the fact that both conventional medicine and holistic health can coexist. No one should be pressured into choosing one over the other. Instead, we should take the time to learn about menopause, understand our unique genetic make-up, listen to our bodies, consider our individual context, and create a toolkit that works for us, one that includes the wisdom of both science and nature.
Toxins, Poisons, and Powerful Plants
A vital learning experience at the Summit was the panel discussion around the toxins we expose ourselves to daily, whether in cosmetics, food, or household products. I was genuinely shocked to learn more about the harmful chemicals in everyday items, from hair products, ‘green-washing’ toilet cleaners, and perfumes, all marketed under the guise of a making us ‘cleaner’, healthier or more beautiful. It raised some important considerations:
How can the beauty industry, which claims to enhance our well-being, knowingly sell products that harm our bodies?
How much notice do we take of the ingredients in the products we put on, in and through our homes and bodies daily?
How much have we considered the cellular changes and stress on our body caused by these invisible harmful substances? Check out your perfume ingredients!
The summit challenged us to reconsider harmful beauty standards and what we put in our shopping basket.
To consider the assault on our gut microbiome, our skin and our overall health.
It encouraged us to consider natural products and explore the powerful healing properties of plants and herbs and reconnect with nature.
Would we experience different symptoms and have different long-term health outcomes if we prioritised our health, accessed traditional and holistic practices to support and nurture our bodies, and see ourselves as beautiful wise women?
A Gathered Community with a Common Purpose
An unexpected learning outcome from the Menopause Summit was this …
One of the most powerful tools in our menopause health kit, is the community of women around us.
I believe that Nat Evans, the Menopause Summit curator started a ripple that has the potential to change the narrative around menopause.
When women gather in community with a common purpose, share their knowledge and wisdom, offer one another support, and lift each other up, they can transform health experiences (not just menopause) bringing healing, growth and renewal.
This was the summit’s true gift: it wasn’t just about menopause; it was about creating a community with a common purpose; providing a holistic lens to understand and experience the menopause transition.
I could go on, but this is already very long. So, in closing, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Nat the visionary and her incredible team of positive, action-focused friends; Helen, Angela, and Leonie, for creating such an incredible community.
I also want to acknowledge Mona, ‘the perfect-fit MC’, who kept the energy high, celebrated each and every speaker and facilitated a continuous, vibrant and relevant conversation throughout a truly jam-packed and diverse 2 days.
I’m excited to see how this movement continues to unfold, and I look forward to the next chapter in the Menopause Summit journey.
The Menopause Summit started with 1 woman’s vision and with the support of her friends alongside her, profoundly impacted a few hundred women.
This is an encouragement to us all!
It’s up to all of us who were blessed to be there, to continue to keep the Menopause Summit ripple and waves moving.
If you were there too … I’d love to know if any of my reflections resonate with you!
