Menopause or sharing your daily life with a stranger

Menopause or sharing your daily life with a stranger

80% of women impacted in their daily life

One of the reasons behind the creation of Happy Half Hundred is the strong desire to allow women to take (back) the reins of their destiny, by giving them the keys to understanding this taboo and yet so natural phenomenon that is menopause.

According to a 2020 survey, menopause symptoms interfere with the lives of nearly 80% of women having experienced menopausal transition.

And yet it is a real paradox: menopause, a phenomenon common to ALL women around the world, is too often not or poorly understood by the very women who are experiencing it.

A majority of women with little or no information at the start of their symptoms

A recent study¹ on a panel of women at different stages of their menopause journey has showcased this unfortunate reality:

• 29% of women did not seek information before entering menopause ménopause.
• 32% of women felt that there was not enough information available when they started experiencing symptoms of menopause.
• 45% of women did not know at the time of their first symptoms the difference between peri-menopause (the transition period before menstruation completely stops) and menopause.

Less than a third of postmenopausal women (31%) have discussed the topic of menopause with their OBGYN or healthcare provider. And only 9% with their mother (14% for perimenopausal women).

The power of knowledge 

According to the women surveyed¹, the main symptoms impacting their daily life are:

• hot flashes
• weight gain
• trouble sleeping
• night sweats
• bladder control
• brain fog
• vaginal dryness / painful sex.

Regarding the latter symptom, the study shows that although it can be treated with vaginal moisturizers available over-the-counter, 68% of women had never used such treatments.

« Knowledge is power » said Francis Bacon, and the lack of awareness of menopause among the women who are living it or are at its threshold is a real obstacle to the realization of their potential, both in their private life and at work.

Hence the importance of enabling women to understand what will happen to them at the time of menopause, to help them get a grip on their symptoms, to know the possible solutions to alleviate these symptoms.

Knowing that it is estimated that by 2025 the number of postmenopausal women in the world will reach 1.1 billion², improving the quality of life of this growing population has to become an essential issue for our societies.

Are you interested in the experiences of women at different stages of their menopause? Would you like a reminder of the physiology of menopause and the main symptoms? Download our free ebook, Menopause Story(ies).

1: Bonafide – State of menopause survey
2: source: The North American Menopause society (NAMS)