Tuesday October 18th is World Menopause Day.
And what better day to come together with Menopause Mandate at College Green, Westminster!
Why not come down and join Mariella Frostrup, Carol Vorderman, Lisa Snowdon, Penny Lancaster and all the patrons and supporters of Menopause Mandate to make some noise and keep the meno-cause in the minds of our MP's and top of the media agenda.
We are stronger together!
It started here!
Houses of Parliament - 13th June 2022
Menopause Mandate presented their aims to press and MPs in the Jubilee Room at the House of Commons, which was heaving with menopause experts, supporters and the MM team including Mariella Frostrup, Penny Lancaster, Davina McCall and Lisa Snowdon, as well as Carolyn Harris MP, who conducted a menopause debate in Westminster Hall last week.
-
As Mariella Frostrup said in her opening speech, “For too long we've been told to just 'get on with it,' and 'grin and bear it'. This has to change. Until every single perimenopausal woman has access to a trained expert and HRT is available and affordable for all, then we at Menopause Mandate haven't achieved our goals.”
Mariella handed over to presenter Lisa Snowdon who interviewed Linda Wallwork, 54, from Harrow. It took her ten years to get a diagnosis of menopause and to be prescribed HRT - she talked about her frustration and anger at the situation which is suffered by so many women.
Presenter Davina McCall interviewed two doctors - Dr Shazhadi Harper, author of The Perimenopause Solution, and NHS GP Dr Juliet Balfour - about why we're hearing so many of these stories, and what can be done about it.
The presentations to MPs continued through the afternoon, with Penny Lancaster joining as a host, MM’s Alice Smellie interviewing Professor Henrietta Bowden-Jones, OBE, President of Psychiatry at the Royal Society of Medicine, Professor Claire Anderson, President of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and Philippa Kaye, author of the M Word.
Representatives from The Fawcett Report gave us some fascinating facts and figures from their research and Carolyn Harris MP concluded with a rousing call to action.
An amazing day…but we have only just begun!
There are thought to be an estimated 18 million peri and post menopausal women in the UK, and for millennia menopause has been off the map. Now, thanks to tireless campaigning, it's the biggest women's issue of the moment. Yet menopause provision in the UK remains shockingly poor.
Healthcare professionals aren't routinely educated about the subject, and health advice is often out of date. Women are regularly refused Hormone Replacement Therapy and other treatments despite the NICE Guidelines. Even if they obtain a prescription, the medication is frequently unavailable - with ongoing shortages.
We are saying that enough is enough. This isn't a feminist issue or a niche topic. This affects our whole society as women make up over half the population.
There could be more than 50 symptoms of menopause, and the majority of women will experience at least one. Plummeting hormones, particularly oestrogen, can lead to symptoms lasting years and long term health problems.
Ensuring that women (whose National Insurance contributions equally support our health service), are seen by trained doctors and nurses and given the latest and best advice isn't a luxury, it's a human right.
Millions in the UK are struggling mentally and physically because of this catastrophic failure in women's health. We are leaving our jobs, our relationships are suffering, and there are even suicides.
This is our mandate. We're demanding that long term changes are made right now and that the government and wider society address the inequities faced by women in midlife.
We invite everyone to join us.
Make your voice heard NOW
It starts with pressure. Pressure on the people who can make a difference. Pressure on those people who are bound by the laws of a free democracy to LISTEN, REACT and ENFORCE change.
That pressure starts with you - just the smallest single voice can turn into the loudest roar when it is joined by millions.
Sign up to the petition to DEMAND CHANGE from our government.
Share your own experience. We need every voice to shout NOW.
Your story is your power
If our society has failed you, our government must know
We want to hear from you. Menopause Mandate needs your story to make a change to the way society views women in midlife.
There is strength in sharing.