LGen Lise Bourgon, Chief of Military Personnel and Defence Team Women’s Champion
Photo Credit: Lise Bourgon
Esprit de Corps Magazine September 2024 // Volume 31 Issue 8
Let's Talk About Women in the Military – Column 66
By Military Woman
Question:
Can we discuss the experience of menopause while serving in the military?
Answer:
Absolutely!
Have you ever found yourself uncomfortably hot while outside during the summer? Now, imagine that same feeling of “overheating” happening unexpectedly at any time and place – whether you’re resting, sleeping, or working in the office. This can be a common experience for military members undergoing menopause – read on to learn more.
What is Menopause?
Menopause is defined as having gone without a period (menstruation) for one year. Most people experience menopause between the ages of 45 and 55, averaging 51. “Early menopause” can still happen naturally despite occurring between the ages of 40 and 45. Whereas, “premature menopause” is usually linked to medical treatments or external environmental hazard exposures causing symptoms to occur before the age of 40, unnaturally.
What Are the Symptoms of Menopause?
In the context of the workplace, it is often “perimenopause” rather than menopause itself that presents the challenges. Perimenopause refers to the transition period leading up to menopause, typically starting in a person’s early to mid-40s and lasting up to eight years.
Perimenopause is a highly individual experience that can range from being completely asymptomatic to profoundly disabling. The most recognized perimenopausal symptoms are vasomotor related “hot flashes”. However, about 20% of women never experience hot flashes but may instead experience a variety of alternative symptoms.
Why Does Menopause Matter to the Military?
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) only started opening all military trades to women in 1989. Consequently, it is only recently that the military is seeing a significant number of still-serving members that are also experiencing perimenopause and postmenopausal changes.
Historically, the CAF has not specifically addressed or researched menopausal women’s needs.
Greater institutional awareness on how to minimize menopausal-related quality of life and work performance challenges could result in improved retention rates for military women.
What Can the Military Do to Better Support Menopause-Related Issues?
Increase Awareness: Ensure all military members are informed about issues related to menopause and are able to discuss accommodations for a perimenopausal-related workplace request without bias or stigma. For those still serving, explore the “Women’s and Diversity Health” intranet links on menopause and other related topics.
Prepare Leaders: Equip military leaders to address concerns related to common perimenopausal symptoms, such as “brain fog”, and physical training challenges, including those resulting from new onset urinary incontinence or pelvic floor prolapses.
Educate Healthcare Providers: Enable military healthcare providers to confidently address perimenopause-related symptoms, and offer counseling on menopausal hormonal therapy (MHT) – formerly known as hormone replacement therapy (HRT) – before considering other medications or diagnoses, such as for anxiety or depression.
Update Policies: Ensure all policy updates, including those for healthcare, are inclusive of normal lifecycle issues, including around menopause.
Support Research: Mandate that all federally funded research include all lifecycle stages of military and Veteran members, including pre- and post-menopause.
Learn from Others: Collaborate with the UK, which is a leader in addressing these issues in both the military and civilian workplaces.
What Can Military Members Do to Better Support Themselves Through Menopause?
Military members, especially leaders, can work towards normalizing menopause. More open dialogue about menopausal-related symptoms and the many ways available to help mitigate the workplace impacts of those symptoms is required. We can all help to normalize the symptoms such as hot flashes, disrupted sleep patterns, and brain fog, which so many members experience during their 40s and 50s. Increasing our own awareness of menopause as a normal life stage can help foster a supportive and inclusive workplace for all.
What About Male Menopause?
Yes, this is a real thing. Medically it is commonly referred to as “andropause.” However, the symptoms of andropause are less likely to cause the workplace-related challenges commonly associated with menopause.
In Summary: When We Know Better, We Can Do Better
The CAF is responsible for providing all of its members, at every stage of life, with the knowledge and support needed to succeed and thrive at work. Supporting CAF members through menopause, and other lifecycle changes, is a concrete example of the ongoing culture evolution to put its “people first.”
