Misinformation about perimenopause on social media ‘putting women at risk’ | Menopause

Misinformation about perimenopause puts women at risk of unwanted pregnancy, unnecessary medication and missed diagnoses, experts said.

Awareness of treatments such as menopause and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been raised through efforts including a featured documentary by Davina McCall.

But as an increasing number of women encounter misleading information on social media, there are concerns that some may jump to false conclusions that could hide real underlying health problems.

Sexual and reproductive health consultant Dr. “Everyone thinks they’re going through menopause,” Paula Briggs said. “So we are increasingly seeing younger women asking for HRT even though they need hormonal birth control because they are still fertile.

“I work in an abortion service and we are seeing more women over 35 who believe they are going through menopause and are surprised when they get pregnant.”

According to the British Menopause Society (BMS), more than 80% of women will reach menopause by the age of 54, meaning they will have not had a menstrual period for 12 months or more. Approximately 5% of women experience menopause before age 45.

However, menopause is not a sudden end; Instead, women go through a transition period known as perimenopause that lasts for months or years. During this time, hormone levels fluctuate and can cause symptoms such as changes in menstrual cycles, hot flashes, and difficulty sleeping.

Briggs said misinformation about perimenopause is concerning.

“I look at things like Instagram to see what they’re being exposed to and I’m horrified,” she said, citing examples of women in their 30s being told to request HRT if they can’t sleep or struggling with migraines and to change doctors if denied. Or women are told they need testosterone therapy.

“I’m not against any of this in the right person, but women, even women who don’t have ovaries, produce their own testosterone throughout their lives, so the idea that everyone would demand testosterone is crazy,” Briggs said.

Reproductive endocrinologist at Imperial College London, Dr. Channa Jayasena also expressed his concerns.

“It’s great to have something better [public] awareness [about perimenopause]. “And I think a lot of doctors are completely unaware of how debilitating perimenopause symptoms can be,” she said. “But the flip side of that is I think there’s a risk that some women may be mislabeled as perimenopausal when there are other things that are wrong.”

Prof Janice Rymer, president of the British Menopause Society, agrees.

“[If you are] If you naturally have regular periods, then you are not perimenopausal – end of story. “Your hormone levels are good,” he said.

Rymer added that there is a perception that any symptoms affecting women between the ages of 40 and 60 are due to perimenopause or menopause and that HRT is necessary.

“I think HRT is totally amazing,” Rymer said. However, it was “not for women who don’t need it,” he added, noting that it could cause heavy bleeding in such cases.

Briggs said the main concern that arises from misinformation about perimenopause is that women stop birth control because they think it’s no longer necessary.

Jayasena suggested this could be due to messages about how fertility declines with age.

“I think we have a real awareness of the timelines for optimal fertility and optimal response to IVF. IVF doesn’t work after age 42. It’s easy to translate that into the assumption that you can’t get pregnant naturally, when in fact you can,” she said.

Experts also expressed their concerns On a push back against hormonal contraception – A situation that is especially acute among young women, despite the increasing demand for HRT.

Emphasizing that birth control is not a one-size-fits-all issue, Briggs noted that there are many progestogen-only birth control methods that can be used in conjunction with HRT to protect against pregnancy while managing symptoms associated with perimenopause.

In addition, there are modern forms of combination pills that are safer for use in women experiencing perimenopause than traditional combination pills because they contain a natural form of estrogen, he said. Essentially, “it’s a mini-pill plus some HRT,” Jayaesna said.

College of Sexual and Reproductive Health president Dr Zara Haider said misinformation, particularly around fertility and hormone use, was a significant problem.

“We’re still seeing women stop birth control too early because they assume they can’t get pregnant, when in reality birth control is required until menopause is confirmed or age 55. There’s also a lingering effect of outdated or flawed studies on risks like breast cancer, which has understandably made some women wary of hormones,” she said.

“At the same time, it is positive that public conversations, including high-profile campaigns, are helping to bring menopause into the mainstream. The challenge now is to ensure women receive accurate, evidence-based information so they can make informed decisions.”