"Hiding symptoms and balancing work, family and relationships": Australian women discuss menopause and the midlife collision

Abstract

Menopause research has had a largely biomedical focus on symptoms and treatment. To date, limited research has investigated how menopause might intersect with a range of other pressures and challenges that women might experience during midlife. This study draws on narrative responses to four questions from an online qualitative survey with n = 509 Australian women (aged 45 to 64) to understand how women conceptualised menopause within a range of broader midlife experiences. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to construct three themes from the data. First, women's experiences of menopause were diverse, ranging from feeling liberated from problematic reproductive issues (such as heavy periods) through to extremely negative physical and emotional impacts. Second, women experienced menopause alongside extensive midlife challenges which were influenced by gendered expectations and ageism. These included intergenerational caregiving responsibilities, workplace and career stressors, financial issues, relationship difficulties, and health concerns. Finally, while not all women experienced difficulties in navigating both menopause and midlife, many stated that menopause exacerbated already problematic midlife stressors, particular in relation to their sense of self, workplace challenges, their financial wellbeing, and disrupted relationships. It is important that approaches to menopause shift beyond individualised biomedical approaches to consider the range of structural issues that may contribute to broader health and social inequities for women as they age.