Menopause is a natural part of ageing that affects 50% of the population. Yet, this fact is not reflected in many societies and their health systems. This week, The Pioneer brings to about our country’s first-ever menopause community for our weekly edition of Community Wise.
SHIKHA DUGGAL
Most women have a basic understanding of menopause, but when a man comes to the vanguard for gaining attention, women open up about this often under-discussed part of life that seems so succouring. Miror, our country’s first-ever “menopause community” highlights so well the interest in learning what this phase is all about.
With less than one percent of our women seeking help during the menopausal transition, Sanjith decided to create a platform to help women during this difficult phase of their lives. Thus, was born Miror, which operates on the 4T model — Talk, Test, Treat, and Train for women to combat menopause symptoms.
To better understand, we gathered the CEO’s answers to common questions about the same for our special weekly column. “My mother never complained too much about menopause — we are all men at home. My father heard a lot of it but couldn’t really do
anything about it! Now, when she’s in her seventies and a lot of her menopausal symptoms are still prevailing, makes me go back to the awareness she couldn’t receive earlier in her life. This evoked my consciousness! Twenty months ago, I was the same man in the same gamut calling this just a “phase in a woman’s life” but no, I am beginning to take cognizant of it. I am going to term this as “unfair” in our country that there are no apprehensions about menopause. Nobody knows the long-term consequences of it! It’s frightening for me even as a man. Well-educated women are clueless about getting out of menopausal symptoms. Hormonal imbalances have not yet caught people’s attention in our country and that’s why a menopause community like this is formed.”
It has been observed that for some women, the transitional phase lasts for a prolonged period of time – almost a third of their lives. The community is designed to help break societal taboos, assist women seek the right medical aid, and adopt the right lifestyle choices to manage menopause!
He continued, “Once your estrogen or progesterone levels fall in a woman — they go through bothersome and distressing situations. I have seen, this is more of an urban point at issue. My wide awakening took me to the rural communities also, the hamlets, especially! Each woman’s menopause journey is unique. We have thought of collaborating with Asha workers so that rural women also know how to manage these symptoms. They must understand a woman going through a hot flush is not having a heart attack! Profusely, women are the pillars of our home so men need to be sensitive around them during this phase. This was possibly another motivation for me to forge ahead with this community because I can’t see the pillar of the house collapsing.”
Statistics show that less than one percent of women seek help for menopause-related issues. Worse still, when some of this help is too late results in fatal consequences! To educate and empower women passing through this difficult phase of their lives, he, a visionary in the true sense of the word, launched this platform that guides women to the most appropriate medical assistance and lifestyle choices that can help manage menopause effectively.
Besides, “I am working on vernacular regions also because the real country lies there — and for them to evoke their compos mentis, they must first be able to comprehend it in their vernacular language. The translation is very important here. To give you an example, if a woman is going through an unfortunate case of cancer, the whole family becomes her support system but it’s not the same with menopause, and as a man that irked me. Then I saw PMSing receiving bad connotations from the fellow gender itself — women are not irrational if they are putting their perspectives ahead. It goes for a boyfriend too, shouldn’t feel that she’s conjuring all this up because of a bad mood. No! Actuality is, she has no control over her hormonal imbalances during this phase. Do something to replenish her body, instead! A dominant support around a woman going through her menopause can lower the atmosphere of tension automatically. Another facet where men can play their parts!”
Miror in Latin means Admire symbolising the belief that every woman can take control of her health during this significant stage of life. So the community understands this fact, along with the unique needs and challenges that women face during their midlife concerning menopause, and strives to provide empowering solutions through the use of AI and ML technologies.
“The women in my team come over and address the beneficiary learnings from the community we are heading. We are guided by medical experts! So that people know the menopausal phase shouldn’t be, and cannot be ignored. Go for medically proven options. I am glad we are talking about peri-menopause phases also, a phenomenon that should have arrived much earlier. There are women who work for me and still haven’t started with this phase and they are in their fiftees — and to break the myth, it’s in your favour! Your reproductive health is still of good use,” added Sanjith Shetty. He is encouraging open discussions about the concerns during menopause. Women who seek help are given personalised care through programs led by certified specialists and trainers. The community has built an ecosystem to break societal taboos surrounding this topic.
Moreover, “Over a period of so many months, we have diligently built a supportive community that aims to destigmatize menopause without judgement. This community comprises esteemed medical professionals, alternative medicine healers, the target group of users, fitness enthusiasts, and nutritionists.”
With an estimated one billion women set to experience menopause by 2025, the community is poised to revolutionise women’s health by leveraging technology and fostering an inclusive ecosystem that empowers women to take charge of their health during this transformative phase of their lives!
