She shared her experience with journalist Norah O’Donnell’s new podcast “Healthful<\/a>,” which will be released on Wednesday.<\/p>\n French Gates, now 61, said she was in her early 40s when she began experiencing menopause symptoms, noting that she “kind of couldn’t believe it,” as reported by CBS News.<\/p>\n LOW TESTOSTERONE? HEGSETH SPARKS CONVERSATION AS DOCTORS REVEAL WARNING SIGNS EVERY MAN SHOULD KNOW<\/a><\/p>\n Later, the philanthropist and businesswoman would learn that many OB-GYNs receive little formal training in menopause care, which she says underscores a broader gap in women’s healthcare<\/a>.<\/p>\n Melinda French Gates is speaking out about the challenges of recognizing perimenopause, saying she didn’t receive the proper diagnosis and treatment until after seeing three different doctors. (Getty Images)<\/p>\n French Gates shared that she was lucky enough to know the signs, thanks to input from older friends.<\/p>\n “But it was kind of unbelievable to me that, even in this, you know, unbelievably privileged situation I’m in, where I feel like I can get some of the best healthcare, it took me three doctors to really diagnose what I was going through and to get the right treatments for where I was,” she said during the interview.<\/p>\n TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ<\/a><\/p>\n “It wasn’t because anybody was doing the wrong thing. It’s because of what I now know, which is, only one-third of OB-GYNs in this country are trained in menopause.”<\/p>\n CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER<\/a><\/p>\n Supporting her claim, a national survey published in the journal Menopause in 2023 found that only about one-third of U.S. obstetrics and gynecology<\/a> residency programs include a formal menopause curriculum.<\/p>\n More recently, a 2024 study found that OB-GYN, family medicine and internal medicine residents have low knowledge and low confidence in treating menopausal symptoms.<\/p>\n “It wasn’t because anybody was doing the wrong thing. It’s because of what I now know, which is, only one-third of OB-GYNs in this country are trained in menopause,” French Gates told journalist Norah O’Donnell on her podcast “Healthful.” (Getty Images)<\/p>\n In a separate 2026 Kansas study, more than half of residents reported receiving fewer than five hours of menopause education<\/a> \u2014 and the majority did not believe that residency fully prepared them to treat menopausal patients independently.<\/p>\n In a national survey of 2,000 women, only 25% said their healthcare provider had adequately informed them about perimenopause.<\/p>\n CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES<\/a><\/p>\n Additional training in this area could help, researchers claim, as knowledge scores increased from 61% to 79% among those who received a structured curriculum.<\/p>\n About 1.3 million U.S. women reach menopause each year, according to The Menopause Society. Most begin perimenopause in their 40s, although it can start earlier. (Getty Images)<\/p>\n About 1.3 million U.S. women reach menopause each year, according to The Menopause Society. Most begin perimenopause in their 40s, although it can start earlier.<\/p>\n![\"Melinda](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/melinda-gates-speaking.jpg\")
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