Katie Taylor - Midlife & Menopause Matters

30/03/2024

What have you been reading lately?

I love to keep up with all the ins and outs and the latest evidence when it comes to midlife women’s health & well-being 📚…. After all Knowledge Is Power/Forewarned is Forearmed!

If you’re the same and are looking for some new books to dive into, then here’s a few of my favourites, which are currently on my office bookshelves:

30/03/2024

Really interesting morning Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists RCOG
at the inaugural hearing from Prof Dame Lesley Regan, Women’s Health Ambassador for England, (who I’m delighted to say has just been reappointed for a further two years), about the plans for the coming year and to acknowledge the progress of the Women’s Health Strategy’s first year (which included reducing the cost of Hormone Replacement Therapy and the rollout of women’s health hubs in every local area.

The Health and Social Care Secretary, & Minister for Women’s Health , named problem periods, menopause, women’s health research, maternity care and birth trauma support and support for domestic and sexual abuse victims among the government’s priorities for women’s health in 2024.

£50 million will also be earmarked for research to tackle maternity disparities

The 2024 priorities were developed from responses to the government’s call for evidence from over 100,000 healthcare professionals, women’s health champions (including ourselves), members of the public and other stakeholders across the health sector.

There was also an interesting showcase from some of those working in the fast-growing FemTech space & an excellent talk by Emma Cox CEO at Endometriosis UK.

Good to catchup with many colleagues who I haven’t seen in person for ages including CEO of The Eve Appeal & Dr Philippa Kaye.

So much to do, but it’s a start, just need more funding as ever!

29/03/2024

I want to talk about a topic that can often feel scary and overwhelming, but one that, once you separate the facts from the fiction and actually understand the most up-to-date information on this topic, I hope you will all feel much more reassured about: Breast Cancer.

Much of what we’re told about breast cancer simply isn’t true.

The information that’s shared is often outdated or biased.

This is why, from the very first stages of planning my podcast back in 2021, there was one person I knew I was going to be calling on to de-bunk some myths that still float around even to this day.

My dad!

Better known as Professor Michael Baum, a British surgical oncologist who has dedicated his career to caring for women with breast cancer.

He has made a huge impact on the treatment and management of Breast Cancer and has already left a lasting legacy for the future of women’s health, not just in the UK but globally too.

It’s been such an unexpected bonus (so late in our lives) that our work & shared mission, in supporting, educating, empowering and campaigning for women to receive better health care, finally collided!

In our ‘Breast Cancer - The Facts’ podcast episode, we talk about the facts around breast cancer, looking at how common it is, discussing the latest treatment options, and examining how women can understand their own personal risk too.

My father shares his vast experience with me and explains how the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer has evolved over the years and just why he’s optimistic about the future of breast cancer research.

Tune in to find out:

🕰️ How breast cancer treatment has evolved
🩺 Current treatments and survival rates
🩻 Screening for breast cancer - and the alternatives
✅ Early diagnosis and risk
🤔 The truth about HRT and breast cancer.
🧑‍⚕️ Treating breast cancer and menopause
🔮 The future of women’s health

Search for the ‘Midlife & Menopause Uncovered’’ podcast wherever you listen to your podcasts and click ‘follow’ so that you don’t miss out on past & future episodes too:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/19K0K1bPH2S22NfH0V1TcB?si=2qrTw8WnQNy9lNE_7PNp1w

29/03/2024

Thoroughly enjoyed hosting this fabulous event John Lewis & Partners for one of my favourite skincare brands Clarins discussing the effects of menopause on our skin.

The Clarins super restorative range is formulated with organic harungana extract, as effective as retinol + organic gorse extract to help replenish and revitalise midlife skin.

It was fabulous to have my mum and daughter in the audience too & there were some gorgeous goody bags for all attendees to take home aswell!

If you are looking for a brand ambassador or someone to host/curate an event for you, please feel free to message me or drop a comment below. 🤗

29/03/2024

In my spare time I love writing short humorous blogs about life as a midlife, menopausal mum.

Back in 2018 I got into the habit of writing one a month, and after a year, decided to pull them all together into a little book of blogs so that I could share them with others who may enjoy and relate.

In 2020, during the Covid pandemic, I obviously found myself with way too much spare time on my hands.

I knew that, however hard it was, we were living through an historic moment and I felt compelled to capture our families highs, lows & daily routines in a second book of blogs, so that one day we’d hopefully look back on it in utter amazement that it could ever have happened.

In 2021 I published that second book of blogs - I’m really pleased I did!

Both are available to purchase Amazon.co.uk:

1. The 'Not So Secret' Diary of a Midlife Menopausal Mum https://amzn.eu/d/1ot1dk6

2. The Lockdown Diaries of a Midlife Menopausal Mum: A Personal Collection of Blog Posts from The Latte Lounge Facebook Group https://amzn.eu/d/anaJJLp

This is the second book in the series of Katie’s midlife blog posts, this time bringing together her lockdown diaries, which she began writing during the very first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic right through to, what we hope will be, the last. Katie’s monthly entries tell the story of how t...

29/03/2024

Smiling because my podcast ‘Midlife & Menopause Uncovered’ has not only just reached 80,000 downloads, after only 30 episodes, but also features in The British Podcast Awards Hot 100 list - The most popular podcasts - as voted by the listeners!

Thank you to all my guests and listeners for making this possible. You can listen to all of our series here:

https://open.spotify.com/show/3vSZllHwOLlZkMISM0uEI8?si=02O6qzVyTPOx30RbYXX0-A

29/03/2024

I was delighted to share my story with QVC who have a fantastic ‘Menopause Your Way’ resources hub on their website sharing womens stories, advice and interviews:

I was 43, when I began to struggle with low mood. My usual bubbly, outgoing, capable persona was slowly replaced with low energy, brain fog and anxiety. As a mum of four kids I just put it down to juggling my family, home and job. But hit with insomnia, I spent the next four years […]

29/03/2024

From 10 Downing Street & Hearst Media to C**t Technology & Wunderman Thompson, and so many in between, I’ve loved hosting and speaking about the experiences of midlife women in the workplace.

By sharing our experiences of midlife, menopause & beyond we are helping to break down many taboo subjects, normalising these conversations and fostering a much happier and more inclusive work life environment.

If you are looking to hire a &/or speaker 🗣️or host 🎤 for your next event, please do reach out to either of my fabulous speaker agencies who will be able to help set it all up for you 🤗

29/03/2024

Are you looking for help supporting your employees with menopause in the workplace ?

From awareness events and bespoke resources to policy curation & a menopause support hub, I can help you to ensure you retain your valuable talent.

Feel free to comment below for more details. 🤗

28/03/2024

Well this was nice to get after going to no 10 to give a menopause in the workplace talk to the staff.

The progress we have made over the past 8 years is due to SO many amazing - proud of us all!

Still so much to do but slowly, slowly…….

If you would like me to host or curate a menopause event at your workplace, feel free to drop a comment below. 🤗

28/03/2024

It was an absolute pleasure and honour to be invited back to No 10 to give a menopause talk to the Downing Street staff.

The room was packed full of both men and women sharing so many stories and asking so many questions about menopause support both at home and in the workplace.

It is so encouraging to see, that after years of relentless campaigning, educating and supporting thousands of women right across the U.K., by so many of us passionate grass roots campaigners, public figures and health care professionals, menopause is finally being taken seriously both in the workplace and in the heart of government.

We welcome these positive conversations which are all part of the wider plan set out by the governments ten year womens health strategy, to ensure the next generation will not suffer in silence like we have.

If you are a business that would like some advice on setting up a menopause support framework in your organisation and/or organising an awareness event, please feel free to drop a comment below. 🤗

28/03/2024

Hi! I’m Katie Taylor, an accidental midlife & menopause expert! I never set out to become a specialist in either of these areas it just happened by default - here’s why:

I was 43 when I began to struggle with low mood.

My usual bubbly, outgoing, capable persona was slowly replaced with low energy, brain fog and anxiety.

As a mum of 4 kids, I just put it down to juggling my family, home & job.

But hit with insomnia, I spent the next 4 years trying to function on just 3 hours of sleep a night.

My unrelenting symptoms forced me to give up 3 jobs at that time too.

I didn’t get the typical hot flushes & night sweats, but I did have heart palpitations, my periods had become shorter & heavier, and I put on a lot of weight.

My GP said I was probably stressed & depressed & suggested I took some time off, & I was given antidepressants. They just made me feel numb.

I tried going to the gym & eating more healthily, but nothing helped.

I was sent to a heart specialist, a neurologist & a rheumatologist... I felt like I was either going mad or was a hypochondriac.

It was my father, Professor Michael Baum, a now retired surgical oncologist who specialised in breast cancer, who eventually suspected all my symptoms were hormone-related & arranged for me to see one of his colleagues.

She said my oestrogen levels were “on the floor” and that all my symptoms were due to perimenopause and suggested I go on HRT immediately.

It was the first time I’d heard the word perimenopause.

Within a couple of months, I’d weaned myself off the antidepressants & suddenly realised that I was starting to feel like my old self again.

My husband commented that he felt like he had got his wife back & my kids their mum.

I decided there & then to do everything I could to share my experience with others & help all those who may also have been in the dark about their own symptoms.

You can hear more of my story & how I eventually got help in the first episode of my podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-latte-lounge-podcast/id1626848207?i=1000566309939

If you are a business or individual that would like to connect to discuss working together feel free to drop me a comment below!

Katie 🤗