The Hartford City Council is getting candid about menopause. Though a life-changing event that impacts half of the population, menopause is rarely discussed in social spheres, which is why current Council President Shirley Surgeon and former president Maly Rosado are pushing for a resolution to recognize October as Menopause Awareness Month. The month has been celebrated by the International Menopause Society and World Health Organization since 2009.
Surgeon and Rosado are hoping Hartford will welcome its first celebration this year with information campaigns and community health initiatives that erase stigma and empower women. “A lot of women don’t want to talk about it,” Rosado said. “Sometimes it’s seen as a taboo subject, leading to misinformation, and this can make a woman feel isolated or embarrassed about their symptoms.
” “This is a conversation that we really, openly, have to have to have,” Rosado said. Rosado said the lack of discussion around menopause has led many women, including herself, to fear for their health when symptoms start. “I went through this period where I became forgetful,” Rosado said.
“One day I was sitting on the City Council and I forgot someone’s name,” she recalled. “I said, ‘Oh my God, my father passed away last year from Alzheimer’s ..
. Could it be possible, that I have some of those genes?’” When Rosado started researching her symptoms and speaking to other women about the impact of menopause, Rosado descr.