Across the arc of a woman's life — from fertility through pregnancy and into the long passage of menopause — medical needs accumulate quietly, often unspoken. At a recent conclave of physicians, experts made plain what silence has long obscured: that symptoms dismissed as ordinary are frequently treatable, and that the normalization of suffering is not biology but culture. The gathering was less a medical briefing than a call for permission — permission for women to name what they feel, and for healthcare systems to be worthy of that trust.
Experts urge women to prioritize health across life stages, from fertility to menopause
Women often don't complain because they've been told not to
Mark
Why do you think women stay silent about menopause symptoms, even when they're affecting their daily lives?
Mimi
Because they've been trained to. It's not a personal failing—it's a message they've absorbed over years. That discomfort is just part of being a woman, that complaining is unseemly, that you should manage it quietly. The doctors at this conclave were essentially saying: that narrative is changing, and we need to actively support that change.
Mark
The idea that symptoms can start 10 to 15 years before menopause actually happens—that's a long time to be experiencing something without a name for it.
Mimi
Exactly. Most women don't realize that what they're feeling in their 40s might be the beginning of a process that won't fully unfold for another decade. They think they're just tired, or moody, or aging badly. They don't connect it to something medical that could be addressed.
Mark
One doctor said "the biggest champions for women are women." What does that mean in practical terms?
Mimi
It means support groups matter. It means women talking openly with each other about what they're experiencing. It means creating spaces where you don't have to explain or justify or minimize what's happening to your body. That peer validation can be as powerful as a prescription.
Mark
There's something about the language itself being a problem—menopause used as a slur or a joke.
Mimi
Right. When something becomes a punchline, it becomes easier to dismiss. It stops being a medical reality and becomes a character flaw. That's a barrier to care. If you're worried people will mock you for bringing it up, you're less likely to seek help.
Mark
What struck you most about what these doctors were saying?
Mimi
That women are often so focused on caring for everyone else that they've internalized the idea that their own health is a luxury, not a necessity. The doctors were pushing back on that—saying no, this is basic. This matters. You deserve attention at every stage of your life.
O Pulso
- Women are navigating a decade or more of menopausal symptoms without names for what they are experiencing, without help, and often without knowing help exists.
- The silence is not natural — it is learned, reinforced by social stigma that turns a medical reality into something shameful or mockable.
- Physicians are urging women to break that silence through support groups, open conversation, and a deliberate reclaiming of their own health as a priority.
- Lifestyle changes, adequate sleep, and preventive screening are being positioned not as luxuries but as essential tools for managing hormonal transitions.
- A quiet shift is already underway — more women are beginning to ask questions — but healthcare systems must now prove they are equipped to answer.
Across the arc of a woman's life — from fertility through pregnancy and into the long passage of menopause — medical needs accumulate quietly, often unspoken. At a recent conclave of physicians, experts made plain what silence has long obscured: that symptoms dismissed as ordinary are frequently treatable, and that the normalization of suffering is not biology but culture. The gathering was less a medical briefing than a call for permission — permission for women to name what they feel, and for healthcare systems to be worthy of that trust.
At a conclave designed to amplify women's voices in medicine, a panel of physicians delivered a message both clinical and deeply human: women's health needs do not arrive in a single moment, and they do not end. They stretch across decades — through fertility, pregnancy, and the long transition into menopause — and at nearly every stage, women have learned to stay quiet.
Dr. Jaishree Sundar described menopause as a threshold that reshapes daily life through fragmented sleep, shifting moods, and unexpected emotional surges. The medicine is understood. What has been missing is the conversation. Women, she observed, have been conditioned not to complain — but as social attitudes evolve, more are beginning to ask. The task now is to meet them.
Dr. Tanya Buckshee Rohatgi reframed menopause not as a single event but as a spectrum unfolding over ten to fifteen years — a long passage that most women navigate without recognizing it, without support, without knowing their experience is both real and addressable. She called for sleep, intentional lifestyle choices, and communities where women speak openly with one another. 'The biggest champions for women are women,' she said.
Dr. Geeta Prakash named a sharper irony: the very word 'menopause' has been weaponized as dismissal, making it harder for women to seek care plainly. She also noted how women who spend lifetimes attending to others routinely defer their own health, accepting discomfort as unremarkable.
Beneath all the clinical discussion — preventive care, hormonal shifts, screening — ran a single deeper current: the need for permission. Permission to notice. Permission to name. Permission to ask. The physicians gathered here suggested that the asking has begun. The question is whether the systems meant to respond are ready.
At a gathering organized to amplify women's voices in healthcare, a panel of physicians made a straightforward case: the medical needs of women do not arrive all at once, and they do not end. They span decades—from the years when fertility matters, through pregnancy, into the long transition toward menopause, and beyond. Yet across all these stages, a pattern emerges. Women stay quiet. They normalize what should be named. They accept discomfort as inevitable rather than addressable.
Dr. Jaishree Sundar, an obstetrician and gynaecologist, described menopause as a threshold moment in a woman's life, one that can bring a cascade of changes: sleep that fragments, moods that shift without warning, anger that surfaces unexpectedly, and a range of physical sensations that reshape daily experience. The clinical picture is clear. What remains murky is the conversation around it. "Women often don't complain about these symptoms because they have been told not to complain," Sundar said. "Now, as society is changing, women come and ask about it. We must support them."
That silence, it turns out, is not accidental. It is taught. And it persists even as the world around it shifts. Dr. Tanya Buckshee Rohatgi reframed how we think about menopause itself—not as a single event that arrives one day, but as a spectrum that unfolds across a decade or more. Symptoms can begin ten to fifteen years before menopause formally occurs, a long runway of change that many women navigate without naming it, without seeking help, without knowing that what they experience is both real and treatable. Rohatgi emphasized that adequate sleep, a deliberate approach to lifestyle, and genuine support systems matter enormously during this time. She also made a case for openness: women speaking with women, in groups and forums where the conversation can happen without shame. "The biggest champions for women are women," she said.
Dr. Geeta Prakash, a general practitioner and internal medicine specialist, pointed to something more insidious: the language itself has become a weapon. Menopause is sometimes wielded as slang, as a dismissal, as something to mock. The term carries stigma that makes it harder for women to seek care, harder to speak plainly about what they need. Prakash also named a particular irony in how women's lives are structured. Many spend decades in service to their families—managing households, raising children, attending to others' needs. Yet when it comes to their own health, they deprioritize, defer, accept the narrative that their discomfort is normal, manageable, not worth troubling a doctor about.
The physicians who gathered for this discussion—which also included Dr. Monica Mahajan, Principal Director and Head of Internal Medicine at Max Hospital—addressed preventive care, hormonal shifts, weight management, and screening. But underneath the clinical topics ran a deeper current: the need for permission. Permission to notice what is happening in your body. Permission to name it. Permission to ask for help. The conversation suggested that as society's attitudes shift, more women are beginning to ask. The question now is whether healthcare systems are ready to listen, and to respond with the attention these stages of life deserve.
Citações Notáveis
Women often don't complain about these symptoms because they have been told not to complain. Now, as society is changing, women come and ask about it. We must support them.— Dr. Jaishree Sundar, obstetrician and gynaecologist
The biggest champions for women are women.— Dr. Tanya Buckshee Rohatgi
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