Why is the menopause a taboo subject? [with sign language]

Dr Louise Newson discusses why the menopause is such a taboo subject.

Video Transcript:

I am Dr. Louise Newson. I am a GP and Menopause Expert in West Midlands.

It is a good question. I have no idea why it is taboo because I have dealt with so many menopausal women during my training, when I have been in general practice, and I deal with Menopause a lot, but the more I speak to women and the more I speak to my friends, I realise how it’s not talked about.

But sometimes it’s talked about, but people don’t know what to do, where to get help. They don’t know what will help them and what won’t help them. So I think a lot of people are completely confused and then they push it under the carpet because they just don’t know where to go.

And I think as women we are expected to get on with things and we generally do. You know we get on with our pregnancies. We all talk about our pregnancies…we always have awful stories to tell about our pregnancies.

But with menopause, it can actually be quite a personal experience, and I think also it affects people’s confidence so much. When you are in the throes of Menopause, you actually turn into quite a different person and people’s confidence goes, their self-esteem goes and then to talk to sometimes very close friends about how low they feel is almost a loss of face…so then people decide not to talk about it or shy away because they can’t imagine other people to have those symptoms. Their friends feel exactly the same so they end up not talking about it at all, which is such a shame.