Holland & Barrett (H&B) has partnered with TV presenter Cherry Healey for the Pause & Listen Pledge which asks people to unconditionally listen to and support people experiencing the menopause.
The initiative coincides with the introduction of H&B’s new Expert Peri & Menopause Day and Night Support supplements and follows research showing that 61% of women don’t talk about the menopause and 33% have experienced a negative reaction when they’ve spoken about what they were going through and how they were feeling.
“There has been real progress made in recent years to bring the menopause to the forefront of the conversation, thanks to the many high-profile women who have been openly speaking about their experiences in the media,” says Fiona Sweny, wellness futures science lead at H&B. “However, while awareness has improved, there is still a big job to be done in helping women feel heard. We know everyone’s journey is different and while we won’t pretend to know how an individual’s experience feels, we can promise to be there to listen, support, and offer guidance and invite others to join us in this promise.”
we must get more women
talking openly about their experience, the good, the bad and the ugly
Adds Healey: “Since recently being diagnosed as perimenopausal, I’ve been fortunate enough to have been supported and listened to, yet I sadly know this isn’t the same experience for so many. That’s why taking part in Holland & Barrett’s Pause & Listen Pledge is so important to me – we must get more women talking openly about their experience, the good, the bad and the ugly, so they receive the support they need, and the only way we’ll achieve this is if we create an environment where women feel listened to, without judgement.”
The Pause & Listen Pledge states that:
- We won’t pretend to know how your menopause feels
- We won’t say millions of people go through it every day
- We won’t tell you to just get on with it
- We won’t say “You’re way too young to go through the menopause”
- We won’t make light of your menopause
- We will give you the chance to offload
- We will help you try to find ways to get through it
- We will understand that your menopause is unlike anyone else’s
- We will show you that you don’t have to do this alone
- And above all we will always listen and support you.
The Pledge can be signed up to in store and via the Holland & Barrett website and has launched in conjunction with H&B training 4,000 of its colleagues to advise on the menopause.
The retailer is also offering free consultations around the menopause, having created a number of dedicated Menopause Pause & Listen Rooms in stores across the UK to provide a calming space and cool spots in which to speak with a trained menopause adviser.
An exclusive partnership with the charity Menopause Mandate will also be announced later this month.
The new two-strong H&B Expert Peri & Menopause Night Support and Day Support bring a new, clinically studied ingredient to the UK for the first time in the form of Genopause, a botanical blend of ashwagandha, shatavari, guduchi and guggulu.
The vegan-friendly duo can be taken together to provide 24-hour-a-day support or separately to help alleviate symptoms including hot flushes, tiredness, trouble sleeping, night sweats, mood swings and problems with memory and concentration, commonly referred to as brain fog.
