[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":338},["ShallowReactive",2],{"post-why-men-need-to-be-part-of-the-perimenopause-conversation":3,"related-posts-why-men-need-to-be-part-of-the-perimenopause-conversation":312},{"author":4,"body":5,"content":303,"excerpt":303,"keywords":303,"mainImage":304,"publishedAt":303,"shortDescription":307,"slug":308,"tags":303,"thumbnailImage":309,"title":311},"",[6,17,26,33,41,49,57,65,74,94,102,121,129,137,143,184,192,200,208,216,224,232,240,248,256,264,272,280,288,296],{"_key":7,"_type":8,"children":9,"markDefs":15,"style":16},"cbcfc7308f44","block",[10],{"_key":11,"_type":12,"marks":13,"text":4},"7ad64fad4e96","span",[14],"strong",[],"normal",{"_key":18,"_type":8,"children":19,"markDefs":25,"style":16},"059f27372c15",[20],{"_key":21,"_type":12,"marks":22,"text":24},"cf826e84aa7c",[23,14],"em","By Rod and Ala, Two of the Male Co-Founders of My Village",[],{"_key":27,"_type":8,"children":28,"markDefs":32,"style":16},"0977c30f37dc",[29],{"_key":30,"_type":12,"marks":31,"text":4},"1c14db89370f",[],[],{"_key":34,"_type":8,"children":35,"markDefs":40,"style":16},"38a52a7b5945",[36],{"_key":37,"_type":12,"marks":38,"text":39},"3e92bfa03540",[],"\"Until my late thirties, everything I knew about menopause could fit in one sentence: women stop having periods when they get older. That was it,\" says Rod, one of My Village's co-founders.",[],{"_key":42,"_type":8,"children":43,"markDefs":48,"style":16},"f50e7813d39f",[44],{"_key":45,"_type":12,"marks":46,"text":47},"399162c09902",[],"His story is not unusual.",[],{"_key":50,"_type":8,"children":51,"markDefs":56,"style":16},"f00fe7a62d97",[52],{"_key":53,"_type":12,"marks":54,"text":55},"4105d875c34f",[],"Most men have never heard the word perimenopause. They don't know about the hot flashes that can wake a woman up drenched in sweat in the middle of the night. They've never been told about the mood shifts that have nothing to do with personality and everything to do with hormones. The sleep disruption, the anxiety, the joint pain, the fatigue that doesn't lift no matter how much rest you get. These are things women carry quietly, in part because the culture has always treated this as a private, women-only experience. Something to manage behind closed doors.",[],{"_key":58,"_type":8,"children":59,"markDefs":64,"style":16},"9df03db30eea",[60],{"_key":61,"_type":12,"marks":62,"text":63},"0387d7b82dd0",[],"That silence has a cost.",[],{"_key":66,"_type":8,"children":67,"markDefs":72,"style":73},"51a28b730b67",[68],{"_key":69,"_type":12,"marks":70,"text":71},"b4b6d5a75b7f",[14],"The numbers behind the quiet",[],"h3",{"_key":75,"_type":8,"children":76,"markDefs":90,"style":16},"710a4d7f10a0",[77,81,86],{"_key":78,"_type":12,"marks":79,"text":80},"2a658379f921",[],"When Ala, My Village's Co-Founder and Head of AI Engineering, began researching women's health while building the platform, one number stayed with him: over 70% of women going through menopause receive no treatment at all. (",{"_key":82,"_type":12,"marks":83,"text":85},"f06e605d5189",[84],"1db335c8a287","Source",{"_key":87,"_type":12,"marks":88,"text":89},"cc5b9589e9b2",[],")",[91],{"_key":84,"_type":92,"href":93},"link","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cuyunamed.org\u002Fknowledge-hub\u002Faddressing-the-knowledge-gap-menopause\u002F",{"_key":95,"_type":8,"children":96,"markDefs":101,"style":16},"a87d0a869249",[97],{"_key":98,"_type":12,"marks":99,"text":100},"d65801a0c351",[],"\"What stayed with me was how many women felt they had to figure it out alone,\" he says. \"For something that affects millions of people, the lack of support and understanding seemed out of step with the scale of the need.\"",[],{"_key":103,"_type":8,"children":104,"markDefs":118,"style":16},"1c8c57561dd6",[105,109,114],{"_key":106,"_type":12,"marks":107,"text":108},"e83532f762b4",[],"Many healthcare providers haven't been adequately trained to identify or manage perimenopause and menopause symptoms, leaving women feeling dismissed and invisible. (",{"_key":110,"_type":12,"marks":111,"text":113},"fe719f259088",[112],"904ea1fd0ff4","Menopause Society",{"_key":115,"_type":12,"marks":116,"text":117},"4c3692dcda60",[],") Millions of women are navigating a massive, multi-year biological shift largely on their own. Not because support doesn't exist, but because the conversation has never included enough people.",[119],{"_key":112,"_type":92,"href":120},"https:\u002F\u002Fmenopause.org\u002Fpress-releases\u002Fnew-study-identifies-gaps-in-menopause-care-in-primary-care-settings",{"_key":122,"_type":8,"children":123,"markDefs":128,"style":16},"8000727ec125",[124],{"_key":125,"_type":12,"marks":126,"text":127},"3eed916fe894",[],"\"This isn't just a healthcare problem. It's an information problem. And it belongs to all of us,\" said Ala.",[],{"_key":130,"_type":8,"children":131,"markDefs":136,"style":73},"4390321d0736",[132],{"_key":133,"_type":12,"marks":134,"text":135},"f975d63698d8",[14],"The workplace gap no one is talking about",[],{"_key":138,"_type":139,"asset":140},"f2693c11f122","image",{"_ref":141,"_type":142},"image-1ddbbd111bcabbe9fb3e85ed662f95389f4a15b3-6720x4480-jpg","reference",{"_key":144,"_type":8,"children":145,"markDefs":177,"style":16},"28dc587e7ac2",[146,150,155,159,164,168,173],{"_key":147,"_type":12,"marks":148,"text":149},"229d83df906c",[],"Perimenopause and menopause typically arrive when women are at the height of their careers, in their 40s and early 50s, often in senior roles, managing teams, making high-stakes decisions. A 2024 Mayo Clinic study found that the U.S. economy loses an estimated $26.6 billion annually in lost productivity and healthcare costs related to unmanaged menopause symptoms (",{"_key":151,"_type":12,"marks":152,"text":154},"10769b144880",[153],"5a61410760e7","Time \u002F Mayo Clinic",{"_key":156,"_type":12,"marks":157,"text":158},"7e15d09cd9e7",[],"). A 2024 global survey by Catalyst found that 84% of women want better menopause support at work, and one in ten has turned down a job because an employer offered none (",{"_key":160,"_type":12,"marks":161,"text":163},"a0b7d0ff8831",[162],"006b5bbdbb21","Catalyst",{"_key":165,"_type":12,"marks":166,"text":167},"a55ee4a609c4",[],"). Research cited in a UK Parliament inquiry found that around 900,000 women have left their jobs due to menopause symptoms (",{"_key":169,"_type":12,"marks":170,"text":172},"584aff0c2b65",[171],"5c7d8f584a7d","UK Parliament, Women and Equalities Committee",{"_key":174,"_type":12,"marks":175,"text":176},"e3cf1a8f79bd",[],").",[178,180,182],{"_key":153,"_type":92,"href":179},"https:\u002F\u002Ftime.com\u002F6274622\u002Fmenopause-us-economy-women-work\u002F",{"_key":162,"_type":92,"href":181},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.catalyst.org\u002Fabout\u002Fnewsroom\u002F2024\u002Fmenopause-workplace-support-global",{"_key":171,"_type":92,"href":183},"https:\u002F\u002Fcommittees.parliament.uk\u002Fwork\u002F1416\u002Fmenopause-and-the-workplace\u002F",{"_key":185,"_type":8,"children":186,"markDefs":191,"style":16},"584f733e2816",[187],{"_key":188,"_type":12,"marks":189,"text":190},"bf33b7610dee",[],"Women at the peak of their careers are quietly stepping back, reducing hours, or walking away entirely. Not because they want to. Because nobody around them built a culture where staying felt possible.",[],{"_key":193,"_type":8,"children":194,"markDefs":199,"style":16},"85d733263bfc",[195],{"_key":196,"_type":12,"marks":197,"text":198},"2860409a629c",[],"Men still hold the majority of seats in the rooms where those cultures get set. That is not a complaint. It is a call.",[],{"_key":201,"_type":8,"children":202,"markDefs":207,"style":16},"26be755535d9",[203],{"_key":204,"_type":12,"marks":205,"text":206},"9ae9e4f48eb0",[],"When only one third of women feel comfortable talking to a male manager about menopause, that is a workplace inclusion problem that costs businesses productivity, talent retention, and culture. The fix isn't complicated. It starts with men deciding to learn, and then using whatever platform they have to normalize the conversation.",[],{"_key":209,"_type":8,"children":210,"markDefs":215,"style":73},"d88d0b8293b2",[211],{"_key":212,"_type":12,"marks":213,"text":214},"e66712608fd9",[14],"What building My Village taught us",[],{"_key":217,"_type":8,"children":218,"markDefs":223,"style":16},"40f7bd7dd2d8",[219],{"_key":220,"_type":12,"marks":221,"text":222},"c2b4e35c2a36",[],"For Rod, working on My Village became an education that turned personal.",[],{"_key":225,"_type":8,"children":226,"markDefs":231,"style":16},"3ecd533af5d7",[227],{"_key":228,"_type":12,"marks":229,"text":230},"3c261b1d3f01",[],"\"What started as a project became an education, and that education became something far more personal,\" he says. \"For the first time, I truly understood what the women in my life had been quietly carrying. The isolation of going through something so profound while the world around them carried on, completely unaware.\"",[],{"_key":233,"_type":8,"children":234,"markDefs":239,"style":16},"f1f33fa0317e",[235],{"_key":236,"_type":12,"marks":237,"text":238},"4e6ad5db4b5c",[],"\"I believe men can play a bigger role than they realize. Not by having all the answers, but by being present enough to ask the right questions.\"",[],{"_key":241,"_type":8,"children":242,"markDefs":247,"style":16},"af9088d6e517",[243],{"_key":244,"_type":12,"marks":245,"text":246},"6049fff2f24b",[],"Ala arrived at a similar place from a different angle. His focus was the information gap itself.",[],{"_key":249,"_type":8,"children":250,"markDefs":255,"style":16},"b7785d52ce3d",[251],{"_key":252,"_type":12,"marks":253,"text":254},"a02ca87c0e79",[],"\"I realized this wasn't just a medical problem, it was an information problem,\" he says. \"Menopause is not a one-size-fits-all experience. Every woman's journey looks different based on her race, her lifestyle, and her specific symptoms. A simple calendar or a generic health tracker isn't enough.\"",[],{"_key":257,"_type":8,"children":258,"markDefs":263,"style":16},"13855b4662e9",[259],{"_key":260,"_type":12,"marks":261,"text":262},"25c3895e5eef",[],"That's the gap My Village was built to close: to help each woman understand what her own patterns look like, connecting the dots between sleep, mood, and symptoms so she can walk into a healthcare provider's office with real data and real confidence. When a woman has that, she is not guessing. She is advocating.",[],{"_key":265,"_type":8,"children":266,"markDefs":271,"style":16},"95570848490d",[267],{"_key":268,"_type":12,"marks":269,"text":270},"2fdd31576e68",[],"\"No one should have to go through this transition alone, or in silence,\" Ala says. \"It's time to build a community where women are heard, understood, and supported.\"",[],{"_key":273,"_type":8,"children":274,"markDefs":279,"style":73},"3e7e4ea9cba6",[275],{"_key":276,"_type":12,"marks":277,"text":278},"f2fe2e68c0e3",[14],"A note for men reading this",[],{"_key":281,"_type":8,"children":282,"markDefs":287,"style":16},"d0e00f8fc99d",[283],{"_key":284,"_type":12,"marks":285,"text":286},"5b0c028db848",[],"You don't need to become an expert. You just need to be willing to learn, and to say out loud that this matters. If you manage a team, that signals something. If you're in a room where workplace policy gets shaped, that opens a door. If you're a partner, a son, a friend, or a colleague, the most useful thing you can do is stop treating this as someone else's conversation to carry.",[],{"_key":289,"_type":8,"children":290,"markDefs":295,"style":16},"9023b4813485",[291],{"_key":292,"_type":12,"marks":293,"text":294},"f95a28683d7b",[],"We built My Village because the support system women deserve didn't exist. But the platform we're building is only one part of what needs to change. The cultural shift that makes it easier for women to seek support, advocate for themselves, and stay in their careers and in the rooms that matter - that requires men too.",[],{"_key":297,"_type":8,"children":298,"markDefs":302,"style":16},"5d1664b631e0",[299],{"_key":300,"_type":12,"marks":301,"text":4},"f9000c50072f",[],[],null,{"_type":139,"asset":305,"caption":307},{"_ref":306,"_type":142},"image-6cefb5005eb9af7609760be8f6c6f502d4a3cc5c-3840x2560-jpg","Two male co-founders of My Village share why perimenopause and menopause can't stay a women-only conversation, and what men can do to show up at home, at work, and in the rooms where it counts.","why-men-need-to-be-part-of-the-perimenopause-conversation",{"_type":139,"asset":310},{"_ref":306,"_type":142},"Why Men Need to Be Part of the Peri\u002FMenopause Conversation",[313,321,331],{"keywords":303,"mainImage":314,"publishedAt":303,"shortDescription":318,"slug":319,"tags":303,"title":320},{"_type":139,"asset":315,"caption":317},{"_ref":316,"_type":142},"image-cf7ba96d9ad8f6847f9f873393b93c6c3a234b99-1248x832-jpg","Supporting women in perimenopause and menopause at work","Perimenopause and menopause are costing organizations their most experienced talent. Learn why workplaces need to normalize this conversation, what employers and HR leaders can do right now, and where to find free resources across North America and globally. ","menopause-perimenopause-workplace-support","Perimenopause and Menopause at Work: Why Normalizing This Conversation Is Good for Everyone",{"keywords":303,"mainImage":322,"publishedAt":303,"shortDescription":326,"slug":327,"tags":328,"title":330},{"_type":139,"asset":323,"caption":325},{"_ref":324,"_type":142},"image-1910f3a466d408dbecef3bfa1ae1ae54f0282359-1461x1076-png","Practical tips for preparing for appointments, asking the right questions, and making sure your concerns are heard.","Dismissed, misdiagnosed, or told you're \"too young\"? You're not alone. Here's how to prepare for appointments, ask the right questions, and make sure your perimenopause symptoms are actually heard.","advocating-for-yourself-at-the-doctor-s-office",[329],"Empowerment","Advocating for Yourself at the Doctor's Office",{"keywords":303,"mainImage":332,"publishedAt":303,"shortDescription":335,"slug":336,"tags":303,"title":337},{"_type":139,"asset":333},{"_ref":334,"_type":142},"image-744cd484f78e9e15558fc692c631ee9b9dfbda14-1264x842-png","A My Village co-founder spent years being told her test results were inconclusive. Broken sleep, weight gain, heart palpitations, and brain fog, yet nobody mentioned perimenopause. Her story of falling through the gaps of women's health, and what changed when someone finally listened.","nobody-said-the-word-hormones-perimenopause-and-insomnia","Nobody Said the Word Hormones",1783440887458]