Menopause is a condition that many women experience in America, around 75 million to be exact, but so few people feel comfortable discussing it openly.
When it comes to advancing the conversation around menopause, Hello! magazine saw an opportunity to partner with the nonprofit Let’s Talk Menopause on a menopause hub which launched at the beginning of September.
The primary objective for the hub’s efforts is menopausal women, but both organizations emphasize the need to reach beyond that group, addressing everyone from younger women to employers.
The Hello! US menopause hub follows in the footsteps of a similar one from Hello! in the UK. Among the most notable initiatives of the UK hub has been a Menopause Workplace Pledge promoted with its partner there, Wellbeing of Women.
The pledge is a commitment on the part of employers to recognize the impact of menopause and actively support those who are affected by it. To date, more than 2,500 employers have signed the workplace pledge.
Given the success of the program across the pond and the more than 18 million people that Hello! considers its audience in North America, Let’s Talk Menopause will now enjoy a remarkably large platform as a relatively young organization.
“We launched three years ago and have spearheaded this discussion around menopause and changing the conversation,” says Donna Klassen, the CEO and cofounder of Let’s Talk Menopause. “We’re galvanizing that conversation because people need to know about it. If you’re going through things by yourself and not realizing that this is normal and not even knowing that something is a symptom of menopause, then you feel alone and you won’t get treatment.”
Despite the results driven by the U.K. hub, the domestic initiative aimed at employers will have distinct features.
“We’re different from the U.K.,” Klassen explains. “The workplace is a little bit more multifaceted, so we’re starting with doing lunch and learns, webinars and establishing support groups. We’ve already been doing that and we’re expanding these programs. We’ve recently partnered with a few more companies and we’re going to continue to assess and see what makes sense.”
As far as the content that will live on the Hello! Menopause hub, it is still in its early stages. However, Hello! and Klassen say that editors will be creating educational materials including symptom checklists, first-person content and tips for managing menopause symptoms.
A podcast series is also in the works, with much of that content going live this month, which just so happens to be Menopause Awareness Month.
Let’s Talk Menopause is also kicking off the month with a Marvelous Mrs. Menopause Event in New York City on Wednesday, which will combine cocktails with conversation about menopause.
“One thing that we want to do is we want to get real women’s stories out there,” Klassen says. “One of the best ways to get information out is for stories to be relatable and for people to feel heard. Whatever the content is, we want to provide accurate resources and information, but we also want people to feel less alone and to know that this is a normal experience.”
Klassen notes that some of the reluctance around talking about menopause is that symptoms can be embarrassing for many women and include urinary leaking, vaginal dryness, painful sex and decreased libido. She is optimistic, however, that women and their approach to menopause is changing, with the menopause hub poised to play a part in the transformation.
“Our mothers just sort of lived through it, but this generation is not going to do that,” she says. “We know that there’s treatment. We know that there’s help for us and that you can live your best life. A myth around the topic is that you’re old and you’re done once you go through menopause; we want to send the message that this can be a great time of life. You can get treatment to feel better and for symptoms while they’re happening.”
