This free educational platform is ideal for anyone navigating perimenopause and menopause

Nearly every woman will experience menopause in her lifetime – yet there is surprisingly little education about this crucial life stage available to us. And while in recent years, we’ve seen a shift towards it becoming less of a taboo topic with conversation around it gaining momentum, it still isn’t enough. 

New research, titled Menopause Dialogues – The Census, commissioned by CanesMeno®, highlights the significant challenges faced by Irish women experiencing menopause.

It surveyed an estimated one million women across the country, asking about widespread menopause symptoms and their profound impact on quality of life, and illuminated a pressing need for improved support and resources.

Widespread symptoms

The results speak for themselves – 92% of women experiencing or having experienced menopause reported symptoms. Despite this prevalence, this research uncovers a critical disconnect in awareness, support, and the societal understanding of menopause’s true impact.

Over half of all women contend with hot flushes, lack of energy, and difficulty sleeping, and these two symptoms, hot flushes and low energy, remain vivid memories even for post-menopausal individuals. 

Despite a high overall awareness of menopause symptoms (87%), a notable 13% of women experiencing symptoms initially failed to recognise their connection to menopause, underscoring the need for proactive educational initiatives, particularly as women approach perimenopause.

Suffering in silence

Due to the lack of education surrounding perimenopause and menopause, women are left with limited knowledge and awareness as they reach this life stage, resulting in many suffering in silence. 

For example, most women associate menopause with ageing, but symptoms can happen before they expect it (two in three perimenopausal women have felt unprepared or blindsided by it and one in two admitted they didn’t know what was happening to them), leaving many feeling unprepared and confused.

The impact of menopause extends significantly to women’s sex lives, with nearly half (46%) reporting a negative impact, reporting reduced libido, hot flushes/night sweats, mood changes, and fatigue. On top of this are considerable emotional burdens, with nearly one in four women (23%) identifying “the pressure to be fine” as the most significant unacknowledged challenge of menopause.

Available resources

Despite these figures, there is still a lack of resources available to women for navigating this difficult life stage. In fact, 61% of women believe there is an insufficient number of trusted and credible resources available for those navigating menopause or perimenopause. They reported an overwhelming desire for improved support from their general practitioners and a strong call for greater public awareness and increased access to reliable, credible information.

This is where CanesMeno® comes in. They have launched a free menopause hub – an expertly crafted digital education resource and scientifically-formulated product range to help women in Ireland navigate menopause with ease and confidence.

Recognising that menopause is a life stage every woman will experience, yet often with limited prior education, the CanesMeno® Hub aims to support, educate, and empower women. Key features include:

• 3-minute CanesMeno® Guide: A quick, accessible resource to learn about menopause signs, with downloadable information.
• Personalised Menopause Tracker: Users can input their symptoms to receive free, private, and personalised insights, revealing symptom impact and correlation with overall mood.
• Comprehensive Article Library: An array of expert-led articles to equip users with knowledge to navigate their experience with greater ease.

It’s a fantastic resource for those seeking more education and awareness around menopause, whether it’s for their mum, friend, sister or just themselves.

The bottom line is that there’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach when it comes to menopause. Every woman’s experience is different, and signs can vary by stage, duration, severity and the impact they have. So having the right resources and tools available can make all the difference.

CanesMeno® products are available in pharmacies nationwide and the CanesMeno® Hub is completely free to access HERE.