Menopause: What is it and how can it affect women at work?
Dr Louise Newson runs a regular private menopause clinic in Solihull for women with symptoms of the menopause and perimenopause. She also works with West Midlands Police and Fire Service to provide support and advice regarding the menopause and its potential impact on work.
She's written this article for ITV News Central - they are her views and may not reflect the views of ITV News.
What is the menopause?
The word menopause actually means a woman’s last menstrual period. Meno- refers to the menstrual cycle and-pause literally means stop.
However, the actual definition of being menopausal is when a woman has not had a period for one year.
When does it happen?
The menopause occurs when the ovaries stop producing eggs and as a result the levels of hormones fall. It can also occur following an operation to have the ovaries removed or following some types of chemotherapy and radiotherapay.
The term perimenopause is often used as this is the time in which a woman is experiencing menopausal symptoms but are still having periods. So when an article mentions menopausal symptoms this also refers to perimenopausal symptoms.
Common symptoms
Hot flushes and night sweats
Anxiety symptoms
Worsening irritability
Mood swings
Reduced concentration
Tiredness and low energy levels
Loss of confidence
Symptoms of low mood and depression
Loss of sex drive
Hair and skin changes including dryness and itchiness of the skin
Vaginal dryness
Passing urine more frequently
Most women have symptoms and around one in four women have severe symptoms which detrimentally affect their family, home and work life.
I am constantly astonished and amazed how little women (and men!) know about symptoms of the menopause and health risks of the menopause (including an increased risk of heart disease and osteoporosis). Too many women are not receiving adequate help and advice for their symptoms.
How can the symptoms affect work life?
In addition to the classical symptoms of hot flushes and mood swings, the menopausal symptoms which really affect a woman’s confidence, concentration, energy and ability can negatively affect work performance.
If women do not recognise that it is the menopause causing their symptoms, then they will not talk about it and more importantly they will not ask for help. In addition, if their colleagues do not know facts about the menopause then it potentially makes it very hard for women to talk about their symptoms at work.
Menopause is still a “silent issue” for most organisations and the majority of organisations still provide little support (formal or informal) or line management training on the menopause.
What can be done to increase menopause awareness at work?
I strongly feel that there needs to be less taboo regarding the menopause so men and women can be encouraged to talk freely about any symptoms that might be affecting work.
It is often acceptable to give a pregnant women sympathy for feeling tired or a mother of a young baby sympathy for sleepless nights but it is not usually conventional for employers to sympathise with women who have disturbed sleep due to their menopause.
Increasingly many organisations are looking at health and wellbeing strategies in the workplace as there is an established link between health and performance in the workplace.
The general hypothesis is that the healthier and happier people are, the more productive they are likely to be in the workplace. Clearly, menopause needs to be included in these wellbeing sessions.
What do women think?
Research has shown that, understandably, many women do not want to formally discuss their specific menopausal symptoms with the organisation or even feel “managed through their menopause” in any way by their workplace.
However, many women also feel that if their organisation took a proactive approach and the cultural perception of menopause shifted, then this could significantly affect their work and career opportunities in a positive way.
What treatment is available?
It is also important that women are properly educated about treatment options for menopause including hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
Hormone replacement therapy is the most effective treatment for the control of symptoms such as difficulties in remembering, disturbed sleep, hot flushes, depression and anxiety attacks and it has been shown in research to improve the function of women at work.
HRT also has other proven health benefits including reducing the risk of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. For women under the age of 60 the benefits of HRT usually outweigh any risks. There are many different types and doses of HRT and women need to be properly assessed to be given the right type of HRT for them.
Information about HRT
When I ask women in my clinic why they are worried about taking HRT, the most common answer is their concern about the increased risk of breast cancer. Here are some facts:
Women who are under 51 years who take any type of HRT do not have an increased risk of breast cancer
Women who have had a hysterectomy (operation to remove their womb) and are taking oestrogen only HRT do not seem to have an increased risk of breast cancer
Some types of HRT containing oestrogen and progestogen may be associated with a very small increased risk of breast cancer
The risk of developing breast cancer is greater if a woman is overweight compared with taking HRT
The risk of developing breast cancer is greater if a woman drinks a couple of glasses of wine a night compared with taking HRT
Any increased risk with taking HRT reverses when HRT is stopped
The vast majority of women who do take HRT notice that their performance at work improves dramatically.
They also find that their energy, mood, concentration and sense of wellbeing improve too.