Menopause

With Dr. Shafeena Premji, physician and Director of Mahogany Medical Clinic and The Village Medical, and Janet Ko, President of The Menopause Foundation of Canada. It’s interesting how Western medicine has framed women’s sexual and reproductive health. It has a history of presuming normalness means youth and reproduction, so ageing and not reproducing means “abnormal”. Take the term “menopause”, sometimes described as estrogen deficiency, a diminishment of ovarian activity, and a failure of endometrial development. 

No wonder we aren’t eager to talk about menopause. Of course, this ties to our cultural fear and loathing of getting older and the lack of medical research that accompanies it. It's particularly intense for women and gender-diverse people, who face ignorance and invisibility as they get older. 

Dr. Shafeena Premji and Janet Ko join us to dig into menopause – before, during, and after – and the gaps those who go through it contend with. 

Janet Ko is President and Co-Founder of The Menopause Foundation of Canada. Her personal journey to get support convinced her that menopause was an urgent gender equity issue. Janet has held numerous senior leadership positions and is an award-winning communicator. She’s dedicated to helping women thrive through their menopausal years as a passionate speaker and advocate.  

Dr. Shafeena Premji is a family physician and founder and director of Mahogany Medical Clinic and The Village Medical, where she offers prenatal care, women's health consultations, and a menopause clinic. Dr. Premji serves on Board of the Canadian Menopause Society and the Medical Advisory Board of the Menopause Foundation of Canada. She’s dedicated to supporting women through their menopausal transition and supporting her colleagues in identifying helpful menopausal treatments.

Relevant links: The Menopause Foundation of Canada 

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