Ten questions every man should be asking about the menopause

1 Isn’t menopause a woman’s issue – should men be muscling in on it? An estimated 13 million women in the UK are now experiencing menopausal symptoms – and among them is likely to be your wife, sister, boss, mum, friend. A woman’s quality of life can be significantly affected by the symptoms, which undoubtedly mean yours will be too. Ruth Devlin, author of new book Men… Let’s Talk Menopause (Practical Inspiration Publishing) wrote her guide “to help men understand this phase in their partner’s life”, pointing out that many “know something is going on but feel at a loss as to how to help”. A quarter of women say their relationships have been affected. One in 10 have seriously considered giving up work completely. And research from menopause website healthandher.com reveals 25% of women want to reduce their working hours because of their symptoms. This will obviously have a knock-on effect for everyone. Menopause will obviously have a knock-on effect for everyone Menopause is also seen as one of the last taboos – pretty much at the stage where discussing pregnancy was 25 years ago. Having a supportive partner can help a woman through this time more seamlessly. Demystifying the subject helps everyone. 2 What exactly is the menopause? All women experience the menopause differently and there is no “one size fits all” set of symptoms or solutions. Officially it is defined as when a woman’s periods have stopped for a full 12 months and she is no longer able to get pregnant. This happens when her ovaries stop producing eggs and levels of hormones – particularly oestrogen – begin to fluctuate and fall. As these hormones become more erratic, this leads to typical symptoms of perimenopause (the time leading up to the menopause, which lasts on average […]

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