Carla Romagosa, author of ‘Menopower’: “Gynecologists have to update themselves and train more about menopause”

Fortunately, there are more and more health professionals who treat climacteric with rigor and accompaniment. And it is also true that there is more and more talk about it, so much so that it is already considered a “fashionable” topic. That is why now it is more important than ever to approach disclosure from the approach that Romagosa proposes: evolutionary, integrative, preventive and optimistic. Let’s see how….

For some time now, there has been a special interest on the part of companies in marketing products aimed at women with menopause. Is this group seen as the goose that lays the golden eggs?

On the one hand, it is wonderful that there are more and more people and more health professionals who talk about menopause in a rigorous way, with respect and accompanying women who live this vital stage, which is also the longest of our lives. .

But on the other hand, that frequent phrase that I collect in my book and that I heard from a neighbor comes to mind: “I’m coming out of menopause.” It is important because it is a wake-up call about the risk of going beyond the excess to the weariness or even to reach the point of not wanting to know nothing about the topic. And the truth is that there are people who prefer not to know about menopause and who also prefer not to take care of themselves.

But there is also another point that reminds me of ‘pink whashing’, which was once promoted with good intentions, using the pink ribbon as a symbol to raise funds in defense of research into the disease, but which in reality has often been used by companies to gain visibility or even wash their image with actions that are often not very transparent since it is not communicated what these funds are used for.

In fact, in his work he already talks about the so-called ‘menowashing’…

Yes, in fact it is a term that has already been coined this term, ‘menowashing‘ to talk and also to warn about the number of products and services that are aimed at women in menopause. But I want to clarify that this is not a criticism of the pharmaceutical industry because science is there to provide security and trust in the development of the products we take and also to prevent women from self-medicating with supposedly natural things in a herbalist because they have heard that that a certain plant is good for specific symptoms.

We have to be prudent and choose well the professionals we turn to for information and we have to let ourselves be guided by those people who are specialized in menopause and have been trained for it because here too, as in many other topics, there are intrusion.

Perhaps ‘menowashing’ could be a warning sign but it should not generate boredom because we have to feel lucky that the subject is finally being talked about.

In fact, she claims in her work that women’s health at this stage has often been conditioned by controversial issues…

An example is the case of the study published in 2001 in which the incidence of hormone replacement therapy on coronary heart disease was investigated. One of the conclusions that was drawn is that there could be a certain incidence of hormone therapy about breast cancer. However, this study, which more than 20 years ago has already been corrected even by the authors themselves, who assured that it was poorly planned and that the conclusions were erroneous. It could be said therefore that during those more than 20 years this therapy has not been advised to many women who needed it, such as women with early menopause or with many symptoms or with osteoporosis or with cardiovascular risk.

And on the other hand, the aesthetic pattern that predominated for decades has also conditioned women for decades. There are many who have dieted in their lives and most of the time, from a restrictive point of view. And this is not only far from the coherence and love towards ourselves to promote health and well-being, but also implies silencing ourselves from a kind of aesthetic uniform: same nose, same lips, same cheekbones, same breasts…

And maybe the same thing happens with sexuality…

Yes, in fact there are two things that have been said for decades in this regard. One is that women run out of desire in menopause. And I ask myself: The desire for what? Really… Because desire springs and arises sensorially from anything beautiful: a caress, an intimacy, a forest, a blue sky, a good dish, a served table… All of that provides stimuli that generate well-being and can promote sexual desire if the appropriate spaces are sought.

And the other thing that has been said is that “we are not as capable” in menopause. We are not capable of what? Please! If women are dedicated to multitask and from that “concrete slab” (not a glass ceiling) to which the pro-equality activist Laura Sagnier refers, who reminds us that we take care of household chores and family matters in a very high percentage. And not only that because many of the women in menopause (or climacteric) are part of a kind of sandwich generation dedicated to caring for the elderly and children at the same time. And if we specifically talk about encompassing those women in transition to menopause, or who are in menopause or even in post-menopause, we will be mentioning three very powerful generations, the millennials, those of generation X and the ‘boomers’. Curiously, these women are in the same life stage even though we have always been told that we are different.

To this we must add that we also make up the bulk of the population, from 35 to 65 years old. We are talking about women who, for the most part, are in the best professional moment, at the peak of purchasing power, experience, leadership, opportunities…

And in addition, women at this stage are very attractive on a commercial level since they make up 50% of the world’s population and make 80% of purchasing decisions.

In your work, you remember that, according to data from the Association for Menopause Studies, almost half of women who have symptoms decide not to consult about them. Why is this?

On the one hand, I believe that there are many people who simply have afraid to go to the doctor. Although there is also a certain feeling that if they go to the doctor they will give them drugs and that they prefer to take natural things. But sometimes there are medications that help a lot and there are dietary supplements that, prescribed by a professional, can also help.

And there is also the inheritance of the hackneyed phrase “you’ll get over it” because although it is true that menopause is not a disease, a vision of it prevails that places us in the complaint and in the lack when in reality we should focus on inclusion and add: you have to eat more things that benefit you and less of those that harm you, you have to move more, to optimize those energy levels to move towards health.

Lack seems to be part of women’s discourse at this stage. You eat less, you exercise less, you sleep less, you love each other less…

And all those minuses enhance all the pluses that are negative: more anxiety, more insomnia, more stress, more obesity, more overweight, more depression…

You have to follow a healthy diet with real nutrients, rest well and build sleep from the morning, generate muscle and promote the biochemical reactions that must be generated throughout the body for everything to work.

Let’s talk about the references. It is not common to find examples of movies or series in which women in menopause appear…

I would like to highlight two films that, from the point of view of sexuality, have marked me. One is ‘Poor things’ by Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo in which there are references to menopause and in which desire and sexuality are also discussed. This film generated discomfort by putting women’s pleasure on the table from experimentation, it is a complete ‘zasca’ to the discourse about us not being capable of having desire.

Another reference is ‘Creatura’ by Elena Martín in which it also speaks from experimentation and from a look at the castration of female sexuality since childhood.

They are films that bring to the table questions about desire that are very necessary in the context of menopause.

As for famous women of menopause age such as Sofía Vergara, Gwyneth Paltrow, Naomi Watts, Halle Berry, Salma Hayek, Drew Barrymore or Penélope Cruz… what does it mean for them to generate conversation on the subject?

I think it’s great that they talk about it and it’s super important that they do it because everything adds up. And as for the fact that some of them have already positioned themselves in business to promote well-being, at this stage I would only add to what I have commented about “menowashing”, that is, let’s talk about it but in the heat of the conversation about menopause does not want to sell us milongas. It is important to discern between what is useful to you and what is somewhat interesting. What they talk to you about must have a scientific basis and must be endorsed by professionals.

This famous speech, moreover, has to go beyond “this is what happened to me or what is happening to me” because in addition to generating conversation, it must provide value and solutions.

And how can you discern between what is worth it and what is not?

The woman has to go to the doctor, she has to go to the gynecologist. And the gynecologist has to update himself. And it is possible because there are very specialized doctors and there is also a lot of training available on the subject because I am part of several working groups of the scientific society that studies menopause in Spain.

You also have to understand menopause from a comprehensive perspective. A product It’s not going to solve things for you. I talk about action and to incite a thought that generates a change and establish a habit.

Although I have to clarify that of course I defend, as a member of the scientific society that studies menopause, that if supplements must be given or if treatment must be given, of course it must be given. In fact, on Menopause Day, the issue that health professionals have been asked to highlight is that hormone therapy protects women with symptoms and takes care of bone health and cardiovascular health.

Science is there to clarify opinions and turn off that “a friend told me”, “my neighbor tells me”, “I saw it on the internet”…

How you can see menopause from a more optimistic point of view…

We must remember and take into account that a woman’s brain changes with the evolution of hormones and we have to focus on creative tasks that fill us, complete us and link us to an act of community and an optimistic vision that truly believes that we are the leaders of society. We are half of the bulk of the world’s population, we are the majority in that age group in which the climacteric occurs, we make 80% of the purchasing decisions, we have intermediate positions, leadership, experience, attitude… It is about so much about seeking that love and that coherence that allows us to follow a correct diet, exercise, rest well and then, if necessary, obtain information and advice on those products that help us solve what happens to us, if we have symptoms. But it is not about living from complaints because that does not help you but rather places you in fear and fear is the most limiting emotion and the one that can close the most doors on that path and in that evolution that women experience in menopause.