Cork gears up to host National Menopause Summit

THE country’s leading experts in the area of perimenopause and menopause will speak at a full day masterclass on the topic in Cork on Friday October 20.

Following the success of the sold out inaugural National Menopause Summit in Dublin, the National Menopause Summit Cork supported by M&S is announced to take place in the historic venue of Cork City Hall on Friday October 20.

Featuring advocates, clinicians, facilitators and professionals, the National Menopause Summit will take place in City Hall, just after World Menopause Day which is marked annually today, October 18.

Broadcaster Gráinne Seoige will be the MC of the summit and will be joined by renowned menopause awareness pioneer and one of the UK’s most respected broadcasters and journalists Mariella Frostrup. Mariella’s groundbreaking 2018 BBC1 documentary ‘The Truth about Menopause’ was one of the first documentaries on menopause, breaking the taboo and speaking honestly about her own menopause experience. Channelling her passion for women’s rights and empowerment, Mariella authored the book ‘Cracking the Menopause: While Keeping Yourself Together’ which separates the myths from the reality and offers expertise, hope and advice for all affected by perimenopause and menopause.

Also championing for a new norm across the Irish workplace, the summit will advocate and empower the introduction of inclusive, compassionate and sympathetic work policies to ensure all feel supported and enabled to forge forward in their careers, thus stemming the flow of women choosing to exit the workforce, or disregard opportunities for advancement, due to the lack of these crucial supports.

The line-up also includes Dr Brenda Moran, portfolio GP with a special interest in women’s health and sexual health; Dr Karen Soffe, GP with a special interest in women’s health; Dr Caoimhe Hartley, clinical lead Rotunda Hospital Menopause Clinic, founder and CEO Menopause Health; Dr Sumi Dunne, GP and clinical lecturer in General Practice, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and the GP expert on RTÉ’s ‘Operation Transformation’; Loretta Dignam, founder and CEO of The Menopause Hub; Shalini Wiseman, chartered physiotherapist in pelvic health and continence.

For tickets and more see nationalmenopausesummit.com

We spoke to some of the speakers ahead of Friday’s event. Today we interviewed Shalini Wiseman, renowned Cork-based Chartered Physiotherapist in Pelvic Health and Continence.

KNOW YOUR VULVA

Get to know your vulva and just like you would regularly check your breasts, do the same ‘down there.’ That’s the advice from Shalini Wiseman, renowned Cork-based Chartered Physiotherapist in Pelvic Health and Continence who also encourages women in their 40s to invest in a quality vaginal moisturiser, not the generic over-the-counter lubricants.

“Vulva checks are important so you’ll know what looks normal for you as you go through the change in order to catch any changes occurring early, so get into the habit of doing that. Oestrogen is what keeps the tissues plump and healthy, and as levels drop, along with changes to our collagen in our 40s, it’s important to maintain healthy tissue.

“Using a good quality vaginal moisturiser is really valuable to help with dryness and to keep the tissue healthy in your peri-menopause stage, if you are not using estrogen. So too is using a good organic vaginal lubricant with every intimate encounter to prevent vaginal dryness and soreness during intercourse,” she said.

Shalini, who has over 19 years’ experience in treating urogynaecology issues such as bladder and bowel incontinence, pelvic organ prolapses and dyspareunia or pain with sex, says most women will start to notice changes in their bodies in these areas in peri-menopause.

If we think back to our period, it seemed like it just showed up one day! Of course it didn’t.

" And it’s the same with menopause, there are changes happening all the time in our body and for some it may start as young as in their late 30s,” she said.

Changes can be subtle and might come and go, such as feelings of increased bladder urgency or bladder leaks prior to periods, or being suddenly more prone to urinary tract infections after sex, none of which should be ignored.

Many issues can be resolved easily if addressed early, but some serious issues such as pelvic organ prolapses requiring surgical intervention, can have positive outcomes as well with pelvic floor physiotherapy.

“The main thing for women to remember is that there’s no need to ‘put up and shut up.’ There are solutions and options out there,” she said.

Shalini’s message is to leave any embarrassment behind, and to fully share new clinical symptoms with a GP to get on the right pathway of treatment.

Exercise is key to future proofing your body before, during and after the perimenopause.

“Weight training is vital to start even prior to perimenopause as we lose 1% of muscle mass every year as we age, and it’s important to focus on eccentric loading to lengthen muscles. An example of this is, if you are stepping up onto a box, step off the box slower so as to load and lengthen the muscles.

Hill walking especially walking down hill with speed is also a good eccentric loading exercise for the muscles.

“Maintaining flexibility and mobility will pay great dividends as we age. Cardio is important for our cardiovascular health and of course so are pelvic floor exercises but they must be done properly, with breathing, and ideally done while lying down.”

Half of the world’s population will go through the some or more perimenopause symptoms, she points out, and only a lucky few transition effortlessly.

“It’s down to our genetic card plus lifestyle, and stress plays a big role, but there’s lots we can do to help ourselves.”