Family doctor Dr. Sheila Wijayasinghe speaks about menopause at The Globe and Mail with Cori Lawson-Roberts from Manulife, left, and Janet Ko from The Menopause Foundation of Canada.Jenna Muirhead/The Globe and Mail
Infertility, postpartum depression, perimenopause and menopause: For decades, women’s health issues like these were ignored or deemed hysteria by doctors.
While attitudes have improved over the years, we need to do more to improve the quality of care for women across the country, health experts told a packed audience at a recent event at The Globe and Mail in Toronto.
“For too long, women’s health was a blind spot in our health care system. Women weren’t taken seriously when they sought medical help,” said Health Minister Marjorie Michel at Women’s health: Bridging the gaps in knowledge and care on Oct. 24.
“Because of a legacy of inequity, women’s unique health needs continue to be misdiagnosed, misrepresented and misunderstood,” she added.
There is reason to be optimistic, though. More women are entering the health care field, said Ms. Michel, with women holding 79 per cent of Canada’s 3.5 million health care jobs. Women will comprise half of Canada’s doctors by 2030 and more research into women’s health is now being done by women researchers.
Gatherings like this event and open conversations about women’s health issues are “the first steps” towards change, she said.
Health Minister Marjorie Michel, left, Viktoria Friedrich, country president and general manager, pharma, Bayer Canada and Janet Ko at the women’s health event.Jenna Muirhead/The Globe and Mail
Shining a light on fertility and postnatal care
Viktoria Friedrich, country president and general manager, pharma, Bayer Canada, noted that women’s health is “finally receiving the attention it deserves in our workplaces and health care systems. However, much work lies ahead.”
Ms. Friedrich emphasized Bayer’s commitment to addressing women’s unmet medical needs and removing stigma so that women at all life stages can thrive. “At Bayer we believe that every girl and woman should have the autonomy to shape her own future,” she said.
During a session about fertility and postnatal care, Dr. Sony Sierra, a reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist at TRIO Fertility, said that infertility is one area of women’s health where stigma is lifting. To be supportive, she said workplaces should be “open and aware of” fertility issues and allow employees time off for treatments.
Technological advances are enabling women to do more testing and monitoring at home, Dr. Sierra added, which improves equality and brings “fertility services to places that [previously] have not been accessible.”
Dr. Lara Gotha, a maternal fetal medicine specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital, said that workplaces should also recognize the needs of women after their child is born. When a woman has had a complicated pregnancy that can impact her long-term health, there should be a “fourth trimester” of physical, mental and emotional care.
Improving cultural awareness and access
Another prominent topic during the event was the need for medical teams and practitioners to learn about cultural differences to effectively treat their patients.
“We all need to be humble in our work and look at inequities through different lenses,” said Jen Quinlan, the CEO of Flemingdon Health Centre in northeast Toronto. Many of her patients are newcomers from Afghanistan and she noticed they weren’t returning for follow-up appointments. Realizing that the health centre had a gap in their cultural competency serving Afghan communities, the team set out to create a more welcoming, trusting space. That led the clinic to hire an Afghan support worker to liaise between doctors and patients, improving communication and care.
“Fatima is in the waiting room, managing everything,” Ms. Quinlan explained. “She is our eyes and ears on the ground.”
It’s important for racialized Canadians to see themselves reflected in the medical community, said Dr. Chika Stacy Oriuwa, a resident physician in psychiatry at the University of Toronto and advocate for improving disparities in health care. Patients report “higher levels of satisfaction when they are able to be cared for by someone with whom they identify,” she said.
Physician and Advocate Dr. Chika Stacy Oriuwa speaks during a panel discussion about equity in care with moderator Chris Hannay, left, from The Globe and Mail and Dr. Elisa Levi from Noongwa Wellness.Jenna Muirhead/The Globe and Mail
Menopause and the workplace
Janet Ko, president and co-founder of The Menopause Foundation of Canada, pointed out that menopause is a “significant health transition” with 30-plus symptoms that occurs at an age when women are rising to leadership roles. Her organization’s research quantified the economic impact of these unmanaged symptoms at $3.5-billion annually.
Company health benefits should cover menopause treatments and women should be encouraged to ask for assistance so they can perform at their best, Ms. Ko said. That assistance might include an AI-powered note taker to deal with brain fog or permission to arrive at work late after a rough night’s sleep.
Women who are suffering from symptoms such as severe hot flashes, painful intercourse, bladder issues or insomnia should seek medical help, urged Dr. Kelsey Mills, a menopause specialist and associate professor at the University of British Columbia.
“You know you deserve to feel better,” she said. “These are not things that you need to suffer in silence.”
To ensure women get the help they need, practitioners need to be better educated about menopause and treatments options, Ms. Ko added.
There are clinical tools that can help medical professionals understand, assess and manage menopause. Dr. Sheila Wijayasinghe, family doctor and medical director of primary care outreach at Women’s College Hospital, pointed to a menopause management tool she created with the Centre for Effective Practice that was designed to guide discussions and decision-making between clinicians and people experiencing menopause. Already, 120 family doctors across Ontario have signed up for the training, she said.
Attendees listen to a panel discussion.Jenna Muirhead/The Globe and Mail
Changing the conversation
Ms. Ko pointed out that women are challenging the ageist, unflattering image of women in menopause and that’s having an impact on how the world views that time of life. “We see more role models and examples of people doing really exciting things, and we need to honor that and change the conversation,” she said.
Dr. Wijayasinghe pointed out that in many Indigenous cultures, women in the menopause phase of their lives are viewed as embodying wisdom and leadership – a perspective we should all consider.
“There’s no reason why we can’t thrive at this time [in our life],” she said. “I’m very optimistic for the future of Canadians, because there’s a change coming. It’s happening right now.”
Editor’s note: This version has been updated to reflect that the Centre for Effective Practice is not a part of the University of Toronto.
Advertising feature produced by Globe Content Studio with Bayer Canada. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.