Aamilah Begum

About This Series

During October every year the conversation around menopause is a very hot topic. October is Menopause Awareness month and 18th October is World Menopause Day. This was instituted by the International  Menopause Society and the World Health Organisation back in 1984 ‘to encourage education and awareness of this topic’.

Despite the conversation having started back then, understanding by women around what happens to their hormones during their lifetime, but in particular en-route to their post-reproductive years is still very poor.

The focus on menopause generally sits around the symptoms which can be devastating for some, and bloody awful for most. A few women do get to slide through sideways without a scratch. However the bigger picture and the one critical point generally overlooked by most women is the long term health consequences of extended periods of practically zero oestrogen during our post menopausal years. So at 51 being the average age when our periods stop, living until 81 or even 91 means 30 to 40 years with minds & bodies that may struggle to be energetic, vibrant and fully functioning, because of a hormone deficiency. Yet, some would have us stop the conversation and allow women following in our footsteps to be kept in the dark and suffer needlessly.

Whether you choose HRT or not, you can’t manage what you don’t understand.

This series Menopause:The Bigger Picture aims to address those negative comments and shine a light further ahead so the conversation can and will continue. Women deserve to be empowered to enable them to make informed decisions on how they navigate their hormone highway.