Hong Kong women navigating menopause have often felt the need to “soldier on”, their hot flushes dismissed by others – and themselves – as stress, their mood swings blamed on “having teenagers” and their fatigue chalked up to ageing. But a new non-profit organisation aims to put a stop to that.
The Hong Kong Menopause Society (THKMS), which will officially launch on March 28, aims to boost awareness and understanding of perimenopause and menopause issues, both for the women who have them and for the people who love and care for them, including their spouses and children.
The society was co-founded by three doctors in the city – Dr Rebecca Lau, Dr Zara Chan and Dr Laurena Law – and its membership is open to all Hong Kong doctors. The co-founders aim for it to provide a supportive and educational forum and to build a community to normalise these transitional life stages.
“Menopause ripples through every corner of society,” Lau says. “When women endure urinary infections or painful intimacy, it strains marriages. I’ve had husbands sit in my clinic, relieved to hear: ‘She’s not rejecting you – she’s physically uncomfortable, exhausted, irritable. This is treatable.’”
Children feel it, too. Some have told her: “Mum’s angry all the time – we argue now.”
Menopause symptoms range from hot flushes to joint pain to digestive problems. Photo: ShutterstockWhen mothers navigate perimenopause alongside their children’s pre-teen hormonal shifts, households can become tense, dinner tables silent and hugs strained, with everyone walking on eggshells.