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Davina McCall menopause quotes: On struggles, midlife upsides + why she won't keep quiet
As her latest doc Davina McCall: Sex, Mind and the Menopause airs
Davina McCall is back in formidable female health activist mode and, do you know what? We couldn’t be happier.
Her latest documentary Davina McCall: Sex, Mind and the Menopause looks at how the menopause affects not just women’s bodies in midlife, but their mental health and cognitive functioning, too.
It foregrounds how these hormonal changes are having devastating, real-world impacts on the lives and careers of women in midlife - with brain fog and memory loss 'decimating women at work'.
The programme contains data from over 4,000 women aged between 45-55, of which half said menopause symptoms affected their ability to do their job.
What's more, nearly 85% said there was nobody in the workplace to turn to about their problems - and 10% had even quit their job as a result.
Davina McCall and HRT: A legacy of needed normalisation
The TV presenter has become a powerful force in taking the midlife health conversation from niche to mainstream.
Not simply raising awareness of the experience of menopause, she's actively been busting the stigma around hormone replacement therapy (the most effective way to manage symptoms and support healthy ageing for women in midlife and beyond), too.
She effectively put the treatment back on the map via her much-lauded Channel 4 documentary, Davina McCall: Sex, Myths And The Menopause, which aired last May.
‘Women themselves until recently somehow felt they didn’t deserve this [HRT] and they felt ashamed of it and ashamed to ask for it,’ her producer - journalist and author Kate Muir - told the Guardian. ‘They felt it was a sign of weakness. And now it’s a sign of strength.’
And in the new follow-up documentary, Davina explores how HRT could ease some of the most disabling mental health and brain functioning symptoms, including brain fog (of which Davina shares her own 'horrific' experience) and memory loss.
She interviews neuroscientists Dr Lisa Mosconi and Dr Roberta Brinton, who both say women should begin taking HRT when hormone levels decrease - because their brains will eventually become more unreceptive to the hormonal therapy.
Davina McCall, menopause champion: What's next?
Funny, plain-speaking and goal-driven, Davina will continue her work with a book, Menopausing: The Positive Roadmap to Your Second Spring, due out this autumn, featuring some of the 400 responses she received from women talking about their personal experiences.
Want some of the best Davina McCall menopause thoughts and reflections? We’ve rounded up some of the most powerful, galvanising quotes for you.
Read on for Davina McCall menopause quotes on the reality of brain fog, the upsides of getting older and what motivates her to keep speaking out about how the menopause affects women.
As Women’s Health Senior Editor Roisín reports on healthcare and the booming culture around wellness - and hosts the weekly WH podcast, Going for Goal. Named the PPA’s Writer of the Year in 2018, her journalism entertains readers - and empowers them with the tools to perform - and feel - at their best.
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