Building on the success of their two previous Women’s Night events, Norwich High School for Girls partnered with Norfolk Menopause on Wednesday 18th October to host a Women’s Evening event. Norfolk Menopause comprises five local doctors with specialist menopause training; three specialist GPs and two consultant gynaecologists. They are passionate about providing safe, individualised care and offer private consultations from Healthshare Clinic in Norwich to complement their NHS practices. They also run educational sessions for the public, local businesses and local healthcare professionals.

At the Women’s Evening, parents, staff and friends of Norwich High listened to a fascinating myth-busting talk in Eaton Grove Hall followed by shorter ‘break out rooms’ on a variety of topics including sleep in the menopause, testosterone use in menopause, nutrition in menopause, pilates for menopause and fine-tuning HRT. The evening finished with smaller group Q&A sessions.

Dr Emily Cary from Norfolk Menopause continued: “Menopause is, with good reason, a hot topic and it can seem as if everyone is talking about it. But there are still plenty of misconceptions and it is important that women seek safe, evidence-based advice. Not all women struggle, but many suffer debilitating psychological and physical symptoms that can have a huge impact on their personal and working lives.”

Alison Sefton, Head of Norwich High School for Girls, added: “Menopause affects women in different ways; some have significant symptoms which can impact on their personal and professional lives but we still find it hard to talk about and don’t always get the support we need when we need it. I recognise everyone in our community will at some point in their lives be impacted by the menopause; either as a woman going through this themselves, supporting a partner, mother, friend or colleague and it is important to have the facts. Last week I was saddened, but not surprised, to hear that 50% of women aged 45-60 who have experienced menopause in the last 10 years had not consulted a healthcare professional.

“At the event, Norfolk Menopause led an engaging and thought provoking panel session followed by breakout sessions with further useful information. It was fantastic to provide a space for the evening where parents, staff, friends and members of the community could come together to listen, learn and share their experiences. As the panel mentioned in their introduction, women should be given the opportunity to prioritise their own health and wellbeing alongside juggling their busy lives and looking after other family members.”

There is lots of useful information available on the Norfolk Menopause website: https://norfolkmenopause.co.uk/ and regular updates and tips on Instagram @norfolkmenopause. The myth busting presentation livestream from the event is also available to view here.