Myla Health

Last week, I had the privilege of participating in the Global Leaders in Law (GLL) Women's Day Exchange event. It was a brilliant experience being on a panel alongside Lauren Chiren and Lisa Burton to discuss 'Navigating the Menopause, Empowering Female Senior Leaders in the Workplace'. As a medic, it is always fascinating to have an insight into another professional world. A standout moment for me was listening to Alexandra Shulman share insights from her 25-year tenure as Editor of British Vogue. Her advice on leadership (make quick decisions!) and her reflections on menopause in the workplace were invaluable. She highlighted the danger of the predominantly negative narrative surrounding menopause, which can instil fear in women in their 30s, creating a belief that their minds (and careers) will crumble when they reach 45. During our panel discussion, we addressed this concern, which I have seen echoed by many women during our workplace talks. It was crucial to emphasise that menopausal symptoms may not be incapacitating for many women, and there are increasingly safe and effective treatments available for those with symptoms. The dialogue on this topic remains essential. Many older women we encounter in clinic underwent menopause during a time when there was limited understanding of its potential impact. Some experienced a loss of confidence or heightened anxiety, leading to decisions like leaving the workforce. For many this transition led to lasting repercussions in their personal and professional lives. We need to continue these conversations in order to support women through this phase of life- but without instilling fear and apprehension.

What an absolutely amazing British Menopause Society conference! Such an honour to co-chair with Professor Anne MacGregor - and the speakers who had kindly agreed to join us were universally superb. I was gifted the poisoned chalice of having to perform the conference debate against Dr Heather Currie with the topic being 'All hysterectomised women need progesterone'. Highlights were definitely Dr Karen Gurney talking about sex and desire, Alison Macbeth about breast cancer genetics, Clare Spencer answering the 'should we ever check oestrogen levels' question, Zoe Schaedel and Dr Katie Barber with some 'tales from the clinic' and Melinda McDougall talking about herbal medicine and its use in menopause. And many, many more. Lovely to welcome Claire Phipps and Dr Angela Sharma to join us on the BMS Medical Advisory Council. And obviously brilliant to hang out with the amazing Myla Health team with Zoe Schaedel, Lindsey T., Rebecca Walker and Kate Dodson- although we have proved yet again that we are totally incapable of getting a good photo- we were really all having too much fun to stand still....

Two of Myla Health's doctors featured in The Guardian's 'How to Have a Healthy Menopause' supplement this weekend. Zoe Schaedel talking about sleep and menopause, and me writing about how to support your partner as they go through menopause. An incredible selection of contributors including Kate Muir, Claire Phipps, Aimee Spector, Nigel Denby RD Specialist Menopause Dietitian, Dr Shahzadi Harper as well as many others. Well worth a read if you can find a copy!

What an absolutely incredible evening for Myla Health. We are so so honoured to have received the Dynamic Best New Business Award- thank you so much to Tisshaws Family Law Solicitors for sponsoring the award and Platinum Media Group Ltd for arranging such a brilliant event. And obviously the most thanks to my co-founder Zoe Schaedel and our incredible Myla team. It is such recognition of what has been 18 months of incredibly hard work and huge amounts of fun- we now have 8 clinic sites and 5 associate doctors, and have helped educate thousands of doctors and patients all over the UK. Thank you to all the companies that have invited us in to talk to their staff- our webinars have been broadcast as far afield as the US, Middle East and Sri Lanka. The momentum behind ensuring high quality women's health care for everyone is growing- still so far to go- but a great celebration of how much we have done so far! #TheDynamicAwards

A great 2 days at the The Watercooler & The Office 2024 exhibition- showcasing our programme of talks and workshops for organisations. Alongside our other talks we have partnered with Loch Associates Group to offer a really comprehensive 3 hour workshop looking at the clinical and legal aspects of women's health in the workplace- covering menstrual health, fertility treatment and menopause. Amy White and I showed an abbreviated version on one of the workshop stages- great to combine expertise and look at both sides of the issue! Lots of interest at the Myla Health stall and we hope to be able to deliver our doctor-led educational sessions at many of the workplaces that showed interest.

Thank you to the Institute of Government & Public Policy for inviting me to open this conference yesterday- starting the day by talking about the physiology of the menstrual cycle and female hormones and how these might affect women at work. A great series of talks from some inspirational speakers including Vikram Sinai Talaulikar, Aimee Spector, Ashanti Bentil-Dhue, Elizabeth Smith and Lauren Chiren: all focussing on optimising women's experience in the workplace and making sure that none of us are disadvantaged by our biology.