A SUPPORT group for women going through the menopause launched in Frome on Saturday 1st April, for perimenopausal, menopausal and menopause-curious people to come together in mutual care and support.
The aim of the group is to share experiences and discuss menopause topics such as work, relationships and experiences of medical help.
Due to the success of the café, held at The Good Heart on Palmer Street, more sessions are due to be scheduled.
The Menopause Café is the idea of local woman Kathryn Foster, who is writing a book about menopause inequality. After putting a message out on Facebook to see who would be interested in joining the group, 50 women responded who were keen to take part.
Kathryn said, “I became aware of the need for women to be able to share openly and honestly about their menopause experiences and wondered where women in Frome could go to do such a thing.
“There were 19 people in the first session and it went brilliantly. We had a full house for the size of The Good Heart. Everyone was immediately really nice and chatting to each other about their experiences and sharing tips. The feedback was really positive. People expressed their thankfulness in having a space like this, where they could chat to each other.
“The discussion was balanced, about what other support and management there was outside of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), people shared tips about other things they had found useful.”
Kathryn aims for the menopause café to become a monthly meet-up at The Good Heart. She said, “The role of the café in the community is for it to be a safe space where people can speak openly and honestly, to be curious and ask questions. It doesn’t provide medical advice but we may offer expert talks at some stage and I’m currently working on a list of helpful resources that I’ll share with attendees online.
“I also really hope that people end up forging nice relationships out of it. One woman came along and said how nice it was to talk about it with people because she didn’t have anywhere else to talk about it.”
Planning for future sessions and how the group could evolve, Kathryn said, “We shared ideas about perhaps doing weekday evening walks in the summer and taking the session outside that way. One of the women who attended is a yoga teacher and so we had an idea about yoga for menopause and everyone seemed really interested in this.”
Kathryn’s book is in the early stages, focusing on the menopause and what to do outside of taking HRT medication. She explained, “The conversation with menopause often leans towards HRT and support for people that can’t take it, or won’t take it, often gets overlooked. The aim of my book is to shine a light on the emerging inequality. It will set out steps and how people can take control in a supported way.”
The next Menopause Cafe will be held on the 29th April at The Good Heart in Palmer Street. Visit Frome Menopause Café on Facebook for more details
