Melinda French Gates says it took three doctors to diagnose perimenopause
Melinda French Gates has opened up about her perimenopause diagnosis journey, highlighting a very alarming issue with the state of women's health.
Despite having access to the best healthcare, French Gates, the ex-wife of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, revealed that it took three doctors to diagnose and treat her when she started perimenopause in her early 40s.
Speaking on Norah O'Donnell's new Healthful show, which just launched on Wednesday (22 July), the 61-year-old philanthropist said she 'kind of couldn't believe it' when she started perimenopause at the age she did, just a few years after she had her youngest child.
French Gates shares three children with her ex-husband; Jennifer Katharine Gates born 1996, Rory John Gates born May 23, 1999 and Phoebe Adele Gates born 2002.
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She was aware of the symptoms from her older friends, saying: "But it was kind of unbelievable to me that, even in this, you know, unbelievably privileged situation I'm in, where I feel like I can get some of the best healthcare, it took me three doctors to really diagnose what I was going through and to get the right treatments for where I was."
French Gates added: "It wasn't because anybody was doing the wrong thing. It's because of what I now know, which is, only a third — one-third — of OB-GYNs in this country are trained in menopause."
According to a 2022 survey, only 31.3% of OB-GYN residents reported having a menopause curriculum in their residency programme.
The World Health Organization (WHO) explains that menopause is one point in a continuum of life stages for women and marks the end of their reproductive years.
After menopause, a woman cannot become pregnant, except in rare cases when specialised fertility treatments are used.
Most women experience menopause between the ages of 45 and 55 years as 'a natural part of biological ageing', but menopause can also be a consequence of surgical or medical procedures.
The NHS outlines that perimenopause happens when your periods become irregular, and menopause is when your periods stop altogether.
The health body adds that menopause is caused by a fall in hormone levels and usually affects women between the ages of 45 and 55, but it can happen earlier.
Common symptoms include hot flushes, low mood, sleep problems, weight gain, vaginal problems, UTIs and memory problems.
If you have been affected by the contents of this article, please find more information and support via Menopause Matters on their website, or email [email protected].
Topics: Celebrity, Menopause, Health, Women's Health
Rhiannon Ingle