Nearly half of menopausal British women did not feel prepared for 'the change' until they started experiencing symptoms, research by Avon has found.
The Menopause TLI. Too Little Information…The Global Conversation Deficit report in partnership with broadcaster and general practitioner, Dr Sarah Jarvis, found that 51% of women were unaware of the perimenopause's existence.
Online resources are the most popular source of information for 41% of women, above GPs, gynaecologists and friends.
"We undertook this global menopause study to better understand women’s experiences at this time in their lives," said Gina Ghura, Head of Future Innovation at Avon, who surveyed more than 1,000 women for the study.
"By looking at the physical changes shared by so many, we knew we could support women through our product innovation and develop something that would be both functional and enjoyable to use."
British women are reluctant to talk to their mothers about the subject, only 15% said they would discuss the matter, despite the menopause often following maternal patterns.
Meanwhile, 12% feel uncomfortable talking about the menopause with their partner and 13% shy away from the topic with friends.
"We’ve spent years in laboratories researching the impact of hormones on our skin, and when looking specifically at the impact of menopause and perimenopause we released it was a massively under discussed topic. Women didn’t realise why their skin was changing or how to manage those fluctuations," added Ghura.
"In a world of social media, we are used to sharing and even over sharing - we are all familiar with the term 'TMI: Too Much Information'.
“From pimples and cellulite to hospital baby scan images. But for some reason menopause is under discussed and therefore misunderstood.”
