Event Report: Period rediscovered. #5 Menopause matters
WomEmpowered International has hosted the fifth session of ‘Period rediscovered.’ focusing on menopause and the importance of understanding it. We had the honour to have Dr. Yusianmar Mariani to lead the session.
She graduated in 2004 from the School of Medicine of The Central University of Venezuela. She spent six amazing months of vocational training in rural Amazonia delivering primary health care services and health care education, looking after the indigenous population living in the jungle and remote areas.
She then moved to Portugal where she completed her training program in family medicine. She also gained a post graduation in Sports Medicine at the University of Porto in Portugal.
In 2015, she moved to the UK with her family and she has been working as a GP in London ever since. In 2017 she did a short vocational communitarian job in The Gambia, delivering various talks about women’s health to the population and to the Nursing Department in local hospitals. She has a special interest in women’s health, preventative medicine, nutrition, family planning, and addictions. She is currently doing a MSc in women’s health at UCL. She is an advocate for women’s rights and a member of the Family Violence Group of Vasco da Gama Movement, and activist in The European group of family doctors.
Several of the main points from the event are:
It is a normal life event that affects life; it is not a medical condition.
Women spend about ⅓ of their life in the menopause stage. The experiences of menopause vary from person to person; the range is wide. It can be quite a challenging experience for some women; while less so for others.
Symptoms can be physical; sexua; psychological. These are
Menopause is interpreted differently in different cultures! In India, menopause is believed to bring joy and freedom; in Greece women feel empowered by it as menstrual restrictions come to an end.
Stigma disables open conversations on menopause. It is important that we redefine sexuality; liberate ourselves from taboos.
There are ways to overcome the changes. For example; using hormonal replacement therapy in case of altered sexual function. Healthy lifestyle changes can also have a positive influence.
Companies could consider women’s experience in curating their work environment to make women work experiences less troubled during menopause.
You can also view the slides used during the session here:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1OeWTAkItXHzFb3-0vIf3MvKpPfb76tQ1UpemjajrGqU/edit?usp=sharing
The full recording of the session is available only to WE Int. members and event participants. Please contact womenpowered.int@gmail.com to access the recording.
For summary of the main learning from the series please refer to the infographics here:https://www.womenpoweredint.org/reproductivehealth