"Why are we hiding this? I want to normalize the conversation about Menopause,” says Jacquie Court. "Why are the physical and emotional realities of this natural phase of life so stigmatized? I want women to know that menopause doesn’t have to suck!”
WITH THIS FRANK DISCUSSION WE TAKE CONTROL OF OUR HEALTH AND EMBRACE THE TRANSFORMATIVE TIME THAT IS MENOPAUSE.
Jacquie is the founder and host of She2.0, a podcast about all things menopause. She is a passionate crusader in women’s health. She’s here to break stigmas and educate women on menopause. With frank discussions about sex, aging, and self-care, Jacquie and her guests delve deep into what menopause means to each and every woman.
"Society is starting to open-up on the conversation of women’s health and all that entails. Women are demanding it. We need to normalize the conversation – make it “OK” to talk about what every woman, if she lives long enough, will go through.”
“Menopause is one of the biggest biological shifts in a woman’s life. Every organ in a woman’s body has estrogen receptors. That means every organ will respond to decreasing levels of estrogen that naturally happens in menopause,” says Jacquie. “How you, as a women will respond is as individual as you are. What I’ve found is that if you speak to women about menopause, they really want to talk. They just don’t know how to bring up the conversation themselves.”
JACQUIE IS VIBRANT, STRONG AND COMMITTED.
Jacquie is a consummate entrepreneur. With an insatiable drive and endless curiosity, she’s always looking for new and exciting ways to innovate.
Jacquie, a born and bred Torontonian, began her career in big agency PR and advertising, honing her skills as a seasoned writer and content creator for over 20 years. Despite her success, Jacquie still felt her voice wasn’t being heard. That’s when she took a leap of faith and started her own business. Now, she’s more excited than ever to share her passion for storytelling with the world. By creating her own path, Jacquie has been able to authentically share her unique perspective and connect with others in a meaningful way.
“I wanted to learn how to support myself and I wanted to bring women with me on that journey,” says Jacquie. “I love helping other women who want to do something on their own. This is a world where there is space for everyone. It’s not one seat at the table, it’s the whole boardroom.”
“My current podcast, She2.0, came as a natural extension of the first show I produced called “Wine, women & weed - The dope on dope”. Every time we did a show that featured a conversation around sleep, stress, menopause and women’s health, engagement levels went off the chart. Obviously, there was a need. It also coincided with my own life journey, and I have, of course, benefitted by educating myself.”
I CONNECT WOMEN WITH THE BRANDS IN MEANINGFUL AND AUTHENTIC WAYS.
“I’m working with brands that want to bring their stories to this market,” explains Jacquie. “It’s my mission to help women as they go through perimenopause and beyond. I want my audience to know what options are available.”
“I’m not the expert on menopause. I’m learning as well. We are designing She2.0 to be a natural resource for women experiencing menopause and looking for somewhere to find some answers. As an example, I’m working with Shirley Weir of Menopause Chicks to develop a program for Canadian businesses to offer through their HR departments. It’s not about developing a policy – there’s no policy for puberty, there doesn’t really need to be a ‘policy’ for menopause either. Women need evidence–based information and resources.”
HEALTH INFORMATION ISN’T ALWAYS SHARED ACROSS THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY
“Shirley also advocates for women to develop their own teams for their health. No one resource is providing all the support most women will need to go through this time in life.” Many of us will find that our health information isn’t fully shared from one specialist to the next. We must advocate and stay on top of that.
LET’S START WITH TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT MENOPAUSE IS, AND WHAT IT IS NOT.
A woman walks into her doctor’s office and complains of weight gain, irritability, and lack of sleep. Her doctor tells her ‘You’re just at that age,” and dismisses her concerns. What they don’t tell you is that what we don’t know, can hurt us. Therefore, it’s important for women to keep pushing for answers.
100% of women will go through menopause, yet most would say that during one of the most critical stages of their lives, they can’t seem to get a straight answer. Many women report feeling dismissed and overlooked by their healthcare practitioners when they mention their concerns over menopause. There is good reason for this. Since menopause isn’t determined to be a disease, healthcare professionals receive very little training on it.
WE NEED TO NORMALIZE THE CONVERSATION AROUND MENOPAUSE SO THAT EVERY WOMAN CAN FULLY EMBRACE THIS CHAPTER IN THEIR LIVES.
It's essential to empower women by giving them the space to take back control of their health and share their own lived experiences of menopause.
"Menopause is a natural journey, and each woman will experience it differently. Some will breeze through with few complaints; others will experience life altering symptoms for years."
“My own story is just one of many,” says Jacquie. “I had trouble conceiving my daughter. What I didn’t realize was that I had begun perimenopause in my later 30s. I was 43 when I had my daughter, I was fully menopausal by 47. My poor husband, his Hurt Locker hardware is needed as he dodges the hormonal bombs from both menopause and puberty. Our daughter had her first period at 10.”
“What I learned early on in perimenopause is that not understanding perimenopause can lead to health issues and serious issues with fertility. If we had understood how my body was losing essential hormones like progesterone and estrogen, I feel like my struggle to conceive could have been alleviated.”
WHAT IS YOUR HOPE FOR THE FUTURE? DO YOU SEE SOMETHING BEYOND SHE2.0?
“I am hoping the She2.0 will become a “go to” guide for women in perimenopause and menopause. I want it to be a space where you can find information and directions that are trustworthy and science-based. I want people to know they can turn to us for suggestions on creating their own healthcare team which will include doctors and other medical providers, but also menopause doulas, natural health providers, nutritionists, exercise professionals – all of the support structure that a woman will need.”
“I’m also a passionate content creator. I love working with brands to develop concepts, campaigns and content that help engage women in this space. Women are tricky for brands in our demographic. We are smart, we have been overlooked, we can see through a mere ‘marketing message’ and we hold the purse strings. These women have money to spend but brands are getting into their pockets without exchanging resource and helpful information first. I help brands understand how to do that.”
“I never thought one day I would be spending so much time talking about women’s health but as I get older, I realize how much women have been ignored – from our health to our careers and now is the time for women to own the power they’ve always had.”
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