Coventry charity wants to steer away from stigma on World Menopause day
It's as 95% of women in the UK want more access to education on menopause
Last updated 18th Oct 2024
Research has found that 95% of women in the UK want more access to education on menopause.
Women say they feel unprepared and uniformed on the topic of menopause and what is expected when they reach this transition.
Lily Samuels, CEO of Lily Samuels Nutrition in Coventry, says menopause is still viewed as a taboo topic among women.
For Lily, a stigma surrounding menopause remains because many women feel unseen during this period of their life: "So women who are going through menopause, they still feel left that they feel unseen, they feel and hurt."
Lily continued to say there needs to be more education and awareness surrounding menopause for women: "We don't normalise it, therefore we don't really understand this menopause thing as a society."
To combat this stigma Lily believes women should never feel scared to ask for help from family, friends or medical experts.
Lily said: "The main thing is just ask for help, you know yourself and you know your body best.
"If you feel that you're not your usual self, talk to your friend. Talk to somebody you trust."
Research has found that 70% of pre-menopausal women feel uninformed about the changes and symptoms to expect.
Meanwhile, over 60% of women feel uninformed about the healthcare choices available during and after perimenopause.
Currently, the most common medication for menopause is HRT, a treatment which relieves symptoms for women going through menopause.
The NHS said there had been an increase by more than a fifth in hormone replacement therapy (HRT) prescriptions year-on-year.
Lily says women should be more informed by health care providers on treatments there are for menopause, alongside nutritional changes which can ease symptoms.
She said: "To any woman, whether you're perimenopausal or menopause, or you're still far away from that. Look at your nutrition and then your body is going to reward you."
Today (18 October) marks World Menopause Day, which aims to provide more awareness for women going through the transition on the support they can get.