𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬: 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈𝐧 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧.
Menopause is when a woman has not had a monthly cycle for 12 consecutive months. The prelude to that is perimenopause, when the decline of the reproductive hormones begin, often with the onset of psychological and vasomotor symptoms.
On average, for white women perimenopause can start at age 45 and last between 4-8 years, but for black women, it can go on for up to 14 years.
Black women can start menopause as early as age 35. Studies have found black women experience the symptoms for longer, more severe and often with no medical intervention.
I’ve heard the story of a black woman who entered menopause at just 33.
No warning.
No conversation.
No understanding of what was happening to her body.
She thought she was losing her mind.
But what she was really losing was hormones, support, and access to the right healthcare.
Many Black women experience early
menopause - often due to stress, medical bias, fibroids, hysterectomies, or simply genetics - but this reality is rarely talked about.
We are left to:
Figure it out in silence
Mask symptoms at work
Be labelled "moody" or "ungrateful"
And treated as "too young" to be taken seriously
The impact?
Missed diagnoses. Unexplained depression.
Disrupted careers. Strained relationships.
Medical neglect. Suffering in silence.
It's time we stop acting like menopause only happens at 51 (for white women, that’s the average).
And start listening to the women going through it in their 30s and 40s.
Black women deserve:
Early education
Culturally competent care
Timely testing & treatment
And to be believed
This isn't just a women's health issue.
It's a Black women's equity issue.
Because black women deserve more.
Join our webinar Tuesday 24 June at 12 noon - “𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞, 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐞: 𝐀 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐄𝐫𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫, 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 & 𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞” Register Free Here: https://www.nbwn.org/event-details/menopause-mindset-me-a-new-era-of-power-purpose-peace
