Why Menopause Feels So Confusing Right Now
Years in medicine have taught me that confusion rarely comes from a lack of intelligence or effort. More often, it comes from gaps. Gaps in education, in conversation, and in shared language. Menopause sits squarely in the middle of several of those gaps.
What Medical Training Didn't Emphasize
This may surprise some people, but menopause has not historically been a major focus of medical training, even within women's health. Multiple studies show that fewer than 10% of U.S. medical residents across OB-GYN, family medicine, and internal medicine feel adequately prepared to manage menopause. Only 20-31% of OB-GYN residency programs offer dedicated menopause education, often limited to a handful of lectures per year.
As someone who trained, taught, and practiced during this era, I don't believe clinicians deserve blame. Medical education is dense, priorities shift, and for many years menopause was viewed as a natural process that didn't require much intervention. Add to that the long-lasting effects of the 2002 Women's Health Initiative study, which led to widespread caution around hormone therapy, and it's easy to see how menopause became underemphasized, even as millions of women were living through it.
Fortunately, the medical community now recognizes the gap and is actively trying to close it. The Menopause Society has launched a $10 million "NextGen Now" initiative to train 25,000 clinicians. Roughly 90% of residency program directors say they would use modular menopause education if available. The number of certified menopause providers is steadily increasing, though still small relative to demand. Progress is happening, but it's incremental.
Where That Leaves Women
Today, about 60% of women seek medical care for menopause-related symptoms, yet studies suggest that only about a quarter receive treatment, and many require multiple visits before symptoms are recognized as part of the menopausal transition. When answers feel slow or incomplete, people do what humans have always done: they look elsewhere.
In our current digital landscape, that often means social media, podcasts, and confident voices offering clarity in a space that feels murky. Some of that information is helpful. Some of it is incomplete. Much of it lacks nuance. Confidence is reassuring, especially when you're tired, distracted, or worried about your body. But confidence alone doesn't equal evidence.
Why This Moment Feels Especially Loud
Menopause is finally being talked about publicly, and that's progress. At the same time, many cultures still treat it as an uncomfortable topic. Global surveys show that a significant proportion of adults feel uneasy discussing menopause at all, even with close friends or family.
So women are navigating: a biological transition with variable symptoms; limited formal education, even among professionals; and a surge of online information, often delivered without context. No wonder it feels confusing.
Why I'm Writing This
I don't see this moment as a failure of medicine or of women. I see it as a transition period. One where the science is evolving, the conversations are expanding, and the need for thoughtful interpretation is high. We have good data in some areas. We still have meaningful gaps in others. And we are actively learning.