Blog
Let’s get something straight: if a human female lives long enough, menopause happens. Full stop. It’s not a modern phenomenon. It’s not a syndrome. It’s not a disease. And it’s definitely not the result of women suddenly living “too long.” That idea needs to be retired—preferably with a gold watch and a firm talking-to.
Fertility Has Always Had an Expiry Date
Aristotle (yes, that Aristotle) wrote in his biological treatise On the Generation of Animals that female fertility ends well before death. He wasn’t exactly a champion of women, but he did observe that our reproductive years come with a natural expiry date—and that we lived on beyond them.
So no, menopause didn’t sneak in with modernity like a side effect of Wi-Fi or oat milk. It’s always been part of the female timeline. What’s changed is not that we go through menopause—it’s how long we live afterward.
Life Span vs Life Expectancy: A Quick Reality Check
Let’s clarify a common mix-up. Lifespan is the biological potential for how long a person can live—think of it as the upper limit. Life expectancy, on the other hand, is a statistical average that factors in things like famine, childbirth, war, and infections.
So yes, the average life expectancy used to be lower, often skewed by infant mortality. But plenty of women lived into their 60s, 70s, 80s and even 90s thousands of years ago—and they weren’t hiding behind the colonnades of ancient temples either.
Let’s Talk Historical Women with Some Serious Staying Power
-
Queen Tiye, grandmother of Tutankhamun, lived into her 60s in ancient Egypt and held serious political power.
-
Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th-century polymath, composer, and medical writer, lived to age 81.
-
Catherine de’ Medici lived into her late 60s—while managing empires and marrying off royal children.
-
Even in the harsh world of medieval Europe, Eleanor of Aquitaine made it to 82, outliving two kings and mothering ten children along the way. [featured image of Eleanor of Aquitaine source]
So yes, there were old women in history—and they were busy. They just didn’t get written about as much as the old men. (What’s new?)
The Real “Modern Phenomenon”? The Way We Talk About Menopause
As Dr. Deena Emera said on the Hotflash Inc Podcast, by Ann Marie McQueen:
“Menopause itself isn’t surprising – if you live long enough, you will run out of eggs. What’s unique about humans is that we have such a long post-reproductive life stage. That’s the real mystery we need to solve.”
Exactly. The question isn’t why menopause happens—it’s why we get so much life afterward. That’s rare in the animal kingdom, but in humans? It’s baked in. There’s even a name for it: the Grandmother Hypothesis—the idea that post-reproductive women stick around to help raise the next generations. (Sound familiar?)
So No, Perimenopause and Menopause Are Not Modern “Conditions”
Let’s just call that what it is: a myth. A modern misreading of biology, stats, and history. Perimenopause and menopause are not new, not disorders, and not caused by “overstaying our welcome” on Earth. What’s changed is that we’ve started paying attention—and talking about it.
So the next time someone suggests menopause is some side effect of modern life, hit them with this: “Menopause has always been here. You just haven’t been listening.”
And if you want to really make them think, throw in this zinger from The Wiser Woman blog:
“We are supposed to live this long.”
Because we are. We always have been.
Blog
The 3C Framework – Calm, Clear & Connected
A Practical Roadmap for a Mindful Menopause
Wednesday 12th March at 6.30pm – 7.30pm – online – save a seat here
Menopause doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Calm, Clear & Connected is a straightforward, easy-to-follow framework designed to help you take control of your experience with clarity and confidence.
In this lively workshop, you’ll gain essential menstrual health knowledge, helping you understand what’s happening in your body and why. With this foundation, making supportive choices becomes simpler and more effective—because they’re relevant and meaningful to your unique journey.
Through a practical, science-backed approach, you’ll create a personalised plan to:
✔ Calm your body—reduce symptoms, manage stress, and restore balance
✔ Clear your mind—cut through confusion, improve focus, and feel confident
✔ Connect the dots—understand your body’s needs and make informed choices
No fluff, no guesswork—just clear guidance and actionable steps to help you move through menopause with ease. By the end of the course, you’ll have a real-world strategy that works for you, so you can feel energised, in control, and fully supported in this next phase of life.
Your menopause, your way—let’s make it work for you.
Save your seat by booking on the calendar right now —> WORKSHOP CALENDAR
Blog
Menstrual health extends far beyond reproduction—the ovaries play a crucial role in overall health beyond periods, pregnancy, and perimenopause.
A more accurate way to describe this journey is through the concept of a menstrual health timeline rather than a solely reproductive process—it’s a vital sign of overall well-being. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines menstrual health as, ‘the complete physical, mental, and social well-being related to the menstrual cycle, not just the absence of disease’. It’s an overarching term that includes periods, perimenopause, and postmenopause, shaping health outcomes throughout life.
Yet, despite its significance, menstrual health is often overlooked in conversations about mental health and long-term disease prevention. Research shows that irregular cycles, conditions like PCOS, and hormonal imbalances can increase the risk of anxiety, depression, and even cardiovascular disease. A recent study published in Nature highlights a new way to measure heart rate variability in relation to menstrual cycle regularity, reinforcing the connection between menstrual and cardiovascular health (Nature, 2025). If we want to improve health outcomes, we need to start with the basics—understanding menstrual health from the first period to postmenopause.
Learning from Women’s Lived Experiences
For too long, menstrual health has been treated as a niche topic rather than a fundamental part of healthcare. Women’s real-life experiences of menstrual irregularities, debilitating pain, and hormonal shifts often go unheard, leading to misdiagnosis and inadequate support. As one article aptly states, “The medical system has long dismissed the pain of women and assigned shame to our reproductive processes. As a result, women are left misdiagnosed, untreated and unheard.” (Red & Black, 2024).
By listening to women and acknowledging the patterns in their lived experiences, we can transform menstrual health education into something that is relevant, practical, and empowering.
The Economic Burden of Menstrual Health
Beyond the physical and emotional toll, menstrual health challenges come with significant economic costs. The price of managing periods, seeking medical care, and navigating misdiagnoses can add up quickly. According to a recent report, the economic burden of menstrual health is a growing concern, affecting workplace productivity and increasing long-term healthcare costs (Chamber UK, 2024). The financial impact of undiagnosed or untreated menstrual conditions underscores the urgency of improving education and access to menstrual health resources.
The Missing Piece of the Menopause Memo
The good news? Education on menstrual health is simple to implement. It starts with understanding the menstrual health timeline—from periods to perimenopause and beyond—in relevant and meaningful terms. One of the best ways to do this is by tracking your cycle beyond symptoms. Journaling can help you recognize shifts in energy, mood, and overall well-being, offering insight into what works for your body and what doesn’t. It also helps identify the nutrients that support your cycle and those that may not.
A Menopause Doula, like me, can be a great resource for this education, as we’re trained to talk about menstrual health across all life stages—not just during menopause. There is a continued call from all organisations supporting women’s health to improve education, and Menopause Doulas can serve as crucial touchpoints in the lives of menstruators. The BSI standard recommends in-house menopause champions, but outsourcing to a qualified Menopause Doula provides a more tailored and effective approach, ensuring personalized support at every life stage.
A Workplace Wake-Up Call
Beyond personal health, it’s time to rethink how we approach menstrual health in the workplace. The latest BSI standard recognises the need to support employees with menstruation, menstrual health, and menopause, ensuring that workplaces adapt to meet these essential health needs. You can read more about these standards here.
Menstrual health isn’t just about managing symptoms—it’s about understanding how it connects to every aspect of well-being, from mental health to heart health. By prioritising education and support, we can shift the conversation from reactive care to proactive well-being.
For more insights, The Menopause School is transforming the way people learn, think, and talk about menstrual health and menopause. By starting with simple, practical steps, we can empower people who menstruate to take control of their health at every stage of life.
Blog
Many, have asked why we don’t talk about menopause when what we really should be asking is ‘How can we learn to talk about menopause?’
The word menopause appears twice on the Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education guidance published by the Department of Education in 2019.
You will find it on page 29 under the section titled –
By the end of secondary school – Schools should continue to develop knowledge on topics specified for primary as required and in addition, cover the following content by the end of secondary: Intimate and sexual relationships, including sexual health
To have the word menopause mentioned in the curriculum was certainly a huge leap forward and a long overdue addition to the other relationship and sex education topics. However, in specific content, I have not been able to speak with anyone who knows exactly what is being delivered across the country.
What about Menstrual Health?
As with all topics in education they need to be introduced at various points, in relevant and meaningful terms for the age group and cohorts.
The word menstrual gets 7 mentions in various forms as either products, cycle, or wellbeing, and menstruation gets 6 mentions. Go the Period Campaigners!
However, there is still no mention of menstrual health in the curriculum, currently.
The term Menstrual Health was developed through a multi-stage process, led by the Terminology Action Group of the Global Menstrual Collective in 2021 – only 200 years after the word menopause was formally adopted thanks to French Physician Charles-Pierre-Louis de Gardanne to describe the permanent cessation of menstruation.
Since 2021 the World Health Organisation has placed menstrual health firmly on the global agenda.
What about the missed generations who have not learned about menstrual health?
Trying to learn about menopause without first learning about the prequel event called menstrual health, has proven time and time again to be the one thing that is holding back the conversation.
Let’s take a closer look at the missing menopause memo.
Menstrual health, like mental health, can be positive or negative. Most narratives place anything to do with menstruation in the negative column and refer to ‘period problems’.
Menstrual health is every single day of a menstruators life, not only the days of bleed.
For those who follow the typical timeline, they will experience around 450 menstrual cycles over 40-years. The menstrual health timeline is forecast the moment two sets of chromosomes unite. Menstruation will start a couple of years after the ovaries have ‘switched on’.
The regular infradian rhythm called the menstrual cycle has an unpredictable sequence to start with and then within a few years becomes mostly predictable, creating ovarian/uterine patterns that are relative to each person. On average menstrual cycles range from 21-35 days in length.
The first 30 years of circulating menstrual cycle hormones influence everything from muscles, bones, digestion, energy, metabolism, immunity, respiration, and the brain. In total, there are around 400 roles in the body that are collectively driven by sex hormones, in all humans not only those who menstruate.
It subsequently makes sense that the fluctuating cyclical version of events, driven by the ovaries in a menstruator will have a cyclical impact on physiology, second by second. The last 10 years of pre-planned ovarian activity is one that becomes less predictable, known as perimenopause. The tipping point of perimenopause, also known as accelerated ovarian aging, is estimated to be on average age thirty-seven and a half years.
Aging conundrum: A perspective for ovarian aging. Research has shown that the decline in follicle numbers is a bi-exponential function of age, and this change occurs at the critical value of 25,000 follicles at the age of 37.5 years. Frontiers in Endocrinology
From this point forward ovarian aging speeds up, slows down, does a loop the loop and then closer to the typical menopause day (51) the menstrual cycle stops for several months at a time, until it finally stops, permanently.
In my opinion, to truly understand menopause and create confident conversations, you have to know about the menstrual health timeline and the sequence of events that start 40 years prior.
Blog
Perimenopause is the word used to describe the time before a typical Menopause Day. Which makes it easy to know when perimenopause finishes, but not when it starts.
The typical Menopause Day is the one moment in time when you have traveled along the menstrual health timeline to the point when the ovarian cycle has stopped permanently. When there has been no menstruation for 12 months, the next day is postmenopause, the time before that is perimenopause.
- Menopause Day may occur because of medication used to treat another health condition such as endometriosis or cancer, regardless of the distance traveled along the timeline.
- Menopause Day may occur before the age of 45, which is below the age of a typical menopause day which most often happens between the age of 45-55. This kind of Menopause Day is called Early Menopause.
- Menopause Day may occur below the age of 40, and this is termed Premature Ovarian Insufficiency (POI).
To some Perimenopause is a fairly new word, and others say it has been made up. The earliest known use is in the 1960s. The word was first used in an official clinical capacity in 2001 when the first Sexual Reproductive Agin Workshop (STRAW) was held and then modified to include Earl and Late Perimenopause when they met again in 2011 and the new revised edition became known as STRAW+10.
Peri means ‘a time leading up to’, however, it does not help us figure out when it starts. Medically they consider the key indicator to be a change in the menstrual cycle, or ‘fertility becomes unpredictable’ (don’t like that phrase either as it takes back to reproduction).
