Menopause Support: Menopause Foundation of Canada Calls for Action With First-Ever Menopause Policy Agenda by Menopause Foundation of Canada

The Menopause Foundation of Canada (MFC) is calling on governments across the country to act now to support millions of women experiencing menopause – a major health transition with far-reaching consequences for the health-care system, society and workplaces. The Menopause Policy Agenda for Canada sets out seven priorities for equitable menopause care, better outcomes in women's health and a stronger economy. Canadians are encouraged to add their voice through a new advocacy campaign.

"Despite more conversation about menopause, systemic barriers are keeping women from getting the care they deserve," said Janet Ko, MFC President and Co-Founder. "We all bear the cost when half the population is failed. The Menopause Policy Agenda for Canada gives decision makers the blueprint for urgently needed change. It's an opportunity for Canada to lead the world in equitable menopause care and support."

Unmanaged menopause symptoms cost the Canadian economy an estimated $3.5 billion and 540,000 lost workdays every year. Access to menopause care isn't equal, with care gaps widest for Indigenous, Black and racialized women, newcomers, people living in rural and remote communities, gender-diverse individuals and those with lower incomes.

The Menopause Policy Agenda for Canada calls on governments to:

• Train providers: mandate menopause education for all physicians and nurse practitioners
• Close care gaps: make menopause care equitable for all
• Pay fairly: incentivize physicians to provide quality menopause care
• Expand treatment access: make menopause medicines accessible and affordable
• Fund the science: invest in menopause research
• Support workers: strengthen the economy through menopause-inclusive workplaces
• Break the stigma: raise public awareness of menopause

MFC is encouraging Canadians to amplify the call for menopause action by sending a letter to their elected representatives.

Photo credit: all photos under license from BigStock

It's an opportunity to drive real change, said MFC Ambassador, women's and mental health advocate, speaker and author Sophie Grégoire Trudeau. "Right now, too many women are dismissed, misdiagnosed, or left to figure it out alone. The Menopause Policy Agenda for Canada is a call to change that, so people can move through this transition with knowledge, with care, and eventually, with the celebration it deserves."

Menopause Facts

• The menopause continuum includes perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause. Menopause occurs through natural, surgical (following oophorectomy), or medically induced (e.g., chemotherapy or suppressive endocrine therapy) means. Many women are in a stage of menopause for 40 percent of their lives, with those who enter menopause prematurely or early spending the majority of their adult lives in the menopausal state.

• There are approximately 10 million Canadian women aged 40-plus in a stage of menopause; women over 40 make up one-quarter of Canada's paid workforce.

• The fastest growing cohort of working women are between the ages of 45 and 55, when most will reach menopause.

• Unmanaged symptoms of menopause cost the Canadian economy an estimated $3.5 billion and 540,000 lost days of work annually.

• One in two women feel unprepared for perimenopause/menopause.

• Nine-five percent of women experience an average of seven symptoms.

• Only 25 percent of women say their healthcare provider proactively discussed menopause with them. When women raised menopause themselves, 75 percent say the conversation was not helpful or only somewhat helpful.

• Forty percent of women feel their symptoms were undertreated by their health-care provider.

Visit MenopauseEssentials.ca, MFC's digital guide, to learn more about menopause, its stages and symptoms, treatments and additional resources.

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