Did you know that people who menstruate can spend up to a third to half of their lives experiencing some stage of menopause? Medical professionals are still learning about menopause and utilizing ways to normalize this period of life for their patients — making it possible to uncover inequities in menopausal care and discoveries in how different demographics experience “the change” in America.
Dr. Makeba Williams, associate professor and vice chair of professional development and wellness in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Washington University’s School of Medicine, has been interested in Black Americans’ menopause experience since she began her residency about 20 years ago. Now she has published a review in Menopause: The Journal of the North American Menopause Society detailing the health disparities and social ills that change the way Black Americans go through and are treated for menopause.