{"id":872548,"date":"2026-08-29T10:14:34","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T10:14:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/872548\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T10:14:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T10:14:34","slug":"forget-seeking-care-why-so-many-women-dont-even-see-menopause-as-a-medical-issue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/872548\/","title":{"rendered":"Forget seeking care, why so many women don’t even see menopause as a medical issue |"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Forget For many women, menopause doesn’t arrive with a clear warning. It can begin quietly, with periods becoming unpredictable, sleep getting worse, moods changing and a strange sense that the body they have known for decades is suddenly behaving differently. Some wake up drenched in sweat. Others struggle to concentrate at work, feel unusually anxious or irritable, or experience discomfort they don’t feel comfortable discussing with anyone.And yet, one of the most common responses is to simply carry on.\u201cI have heard this from so many women,\u201d says Dr. Pooja Sheoran, Ayurvedic Physiologist and Vedic Nutrition and Lifestyle Expert. \u201cThis is normal. There is nothing that can be done about it\u201d is often the belief that keeps women from asking for help.That silence matters. Menopause is a natural biological transition, not an illness, but that doesn’t mean women should be expected to suffer through symptoms without support. The World Health Organization (WHO) says most women experience menopause between 45 and 55, and the transition to menopause can last several years. During this period, physical, emotional, mental and social well-being can all be affected.WHO also points out something that often gets missed: menopause is still poorly understood and under-supported in many parts of the world. Women may not realise that their symptoms are connected to menopause, while some healthcare workers may not have enough training to recognise and counsel patients about menopausal symptoms and treatment options.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is normal. I just have to live with it\u201d<\/p>\n

There is a difference between saying that menopause is normal and saying that every symptom has to be tolerated.Hot flashes, night sweats, sleep problems, vaginal dryness, pain during sex, urinary symptoms, mood changes and anxiety can all occur around menopause. For some women, these symptoms are mild and temporary. For others, they can interfere with work, relationships, sleep and everyday life. WHO says symptoms can sometimes continue for several years and become severe enough to affect daily activities and quality of life.Dr. Sheoran says the idea that women simply have to endure these changes is one of the biggest myths surrounding menopause.\u201cDuring the course of my work, I have encountered numerous patient cases where women come to the clinic already struggling with menopause symptoms that they had been silently enduring for too long. Unfortunately, studies show that the majority of women never seek professional help for menopause. There are several myths and stereotypes surrounding it that lead women towards negative attitudes and ineffective behavioral patterns.\u201dHer concern reflects a much larger problem. WHO says awareness and access to menopause-related information and services remain significant challenges in most countries. Menopause may not be discussed within families, communities, workplaces or healthcare settings, leaving women to figure out what is happening to their bodies on their own.<\/p>\n

The silence around menopause can be deeply personal<\/p>\n

For some women, talking about menopause can feel almost impossible. They may have grown up in families where periods were never discussed openly, let alone the changes that come decades later. Others may feel that their symptoms aren’t serious enough to take to a doctor.And sometimes, the people around them reinforce that silence without meaning to.A woman may mention that she hasn’t slept properly for months and hear, \u201cThat’s just age.\u201d She may complain about hot flashes and be told to ignore them. She may feel exhausted, anxious or unlike herself and assume she simply needs to try harder.Tamana Singh, Founder, Menovada and Menopause & Hormonal Health Coach, says she has seen this repeatedly among women who seek help.\u201cAlthough this statistic may be disheartening, it comes as no surprise to me. In fact, I founded Menovada, the first integrated menopause clinic, in part due to these very discouraging statistics. Many women who contact us say that they never thought that they had an option, a choice, or that menopause was a legitimate health concern in the first place. Normalizing menopause care is the first step to women feeling empowered and well-informed about their health.\u201dThat sentence, \u201cI never thought I had an option\u201d, says a lot about the problem.Care doesn’t necessarily mean that every woman needs medication or a particular treatment. It means she should have the opportunity to understand what is happening, discuss her symptoms with a qualified healthcare professional and make informed choices about her health.WHO specifically says that a range of hormonal and non-hormonal interventions can help alleviate menopausal symptoms, depending on an individual’s medical history, preferences and needs.<\/p>\n

Menopause isn’t only about hot flashes<\/p>\n

One reason menopause can go unrecognised is that women don’t always connect their symptoms to the transition.A woman might seek help for insomnia. Another might be worried about anxiety or changes in mood. Someone else might notice vaginal dryness or pain during sex but feel too embarrassed to bring it up. A woman who has always been energetic may suddenly feel exhausted and wonder whether something else is wrong.WHO lists hot flushes and night sweats, changes in menstrual cycles, vaginal dryness, painful intercourse, urinary symptoms, difficulty sleeping, mood changes, depression and anxiety among symptoms associated with menopause. The experience varies considerably from woman to woman.And menopause doesn’t happen in isolation. It often arrives during a stage of life when women are already carrying several responsibilities, caring for children or ageing parents, managing a household, building a career or supporting a family.WHO notes that menopause can affect personal and professional life and says its impact is shaped not only by biology but also by social, cultural and economic factors.So when a woman says, \u201cI don’t feel like myself anymore,\u201d she deserves more than a casual dismissal.<\/p>\n

Seeking help is not an admission of weakness<\/p>\n

There is also a fear that doctors won’t take menopause symptoms seriously.Dr. Sheoran addresses this directly: \u201cDoctors will not take my concerns seriously\u201d is another reason women hesitate to seek specialist care. But she encourages women not to give up after one difficult experience.\u201cHowever, there are many qualified professionals that genuinely care about their patients and offer comprehensive, individualized treatment for menopause. Needless to say, if you feel dismissed by one doctor, do not be afraid to seek help from another physician.\u201dThat doesn’t mean every symptom should automatically be blamed on menopause. A healthcare professional can help distinguish menopausal changes from other conditions and decide whether further evaluation or treatment is needed.The WHO’s message is equally clear: women should have access to information, care and support throughout the menopausal transition and after menopause. It considers menopause care part of a broader approach to healthy ageing and quality of life.<\/p>\n

A conversation that should have started much earlier<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most compassionate way to look at menopause is to stop treating it as something women must quietly get through.It is a stage of life. For some, it will be relatively easy. For others, it can be physically and emotionally demanding. Neither experience makes a woman stronger or weaker.And the fact that menopause is natural doesn’t make the symptoms imaginary.WHO says women aged 50 and above made up 26% of all women and girls globally in 2021, up from 22% a decade earlier. As women live longer, more of their lives are spent after menopause, making good menopause care increasingly relevant to women’s long-term health.That makes the conversation bigger than hot flashes. It is about whether women feel heard when their bodies change. It is about whether they know where to turn when sleep disappears, moods shift or pain becomes part of everyday life. And it is about creating families, workplaces and healthcare systems where a woman doesn’t feel embarrassed for saying, \u201cSomething doesn’t feel right.\u201dMenopause doesn’t take away a woman’s identity, ambition or place in the world. But navigating it alone can make an already difficult transition feel much harder.Sometimes the first step is simply being able to say it out loud.\u201cI need help.\u201dAnd knowing that asking for it is completely okay.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For many women, menopause doesn’t arrive with a clear warning. It can begin quietly, with periods becoming unpredictable,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":872549,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[64,63,137,500,254486,15434,440830,440829,12632],"class_list":["post-872548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-medical-issue","tag-menopause","tag-menopause-care","tag-seeking-care","tag-women"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=872548"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872548\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/872549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=872548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=872548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=872548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}