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Melinda French Gates is taking on menopause. Last month, her company Pivotal announced a $215 million investment in women’s reproductive and midlife health, including a $10 million grant to The Menopause Society. But when it came to French Gates’ own menopause experience, even her net worth of over $19 billion wasn’t enough to guarantee speedy and effective healthcare.
In fact, French Gates had to see three different doctors before she was diagnosed with perimenopause and received treatment, she said on a sneak peek of CBS News’ Healthful podcast.
In the advance clip, shared with People today, French Gates says she also started perimenopause earlier than she expected, in her early 40s. “I kind of couldn’t believe it, because I had just finished having my last child in my late 30s,” she said. “I thought, ‘Are you kidding me?'”
French Gates did know that perimenopause was coming, but it wasn’t because of her doctors-it was because of her community of older friends. “Hearing their stories eight or nine years ahead of mine,” French Gates said, “I knew what to watch for.”
Even with that head start-and her own “unbelievably privileged situation”-French Gates struggled to get care. “It was kind of unbelievable to me,” she said. “I feel like I can get some of the best health care, [but] it took me three doctors to really diagnose what I was going through and to get the right treatments.”
She’s far from alone. Most women-experts say up to 1 in 3-who go to a doctor with perimenopausal or menopausal symptoms are dismissed or misdiagnosed, says Sadhvi Siddhali Shree, director and producer of the recent docuseries Balance: A Perimenopause Journey. The problem is structural: most providers aren’t trained in menopause care. According to AARP data from 2018, only 20% of OB/GYN residency programs offer menopause training, and nearly 80% of medical residents say they feel “barely comfortable” discussing or treating menopause.
A misdiagnosis can set women back for months, years, even decades, Shree says. One woman she spoke with went through seven of eight doctors before getting the right help. “A woman’s time and resources are wasted, while her health declines,” Shree explains, making her more susceptible to mental health issues, heart disease, diabetes, obesity and osteoporosis. “Many of these conditions could have been prevented, or their impact might not have been as severe, if women had received the right support, treatment, and education.”
Leaving perimenopause and menopause symptoms untreated can also affect a woman’s career. As French Gates pointed out, “We know that 1 in 10 women step back from the workforce during their years of perimenopause or menopause because of severe symptoms.”
We’re long past due for an update to medical school guidance on menopause-and it’s coming-but what can women do beyond that? Shree recommends getting good, evidence-backed information and seeking care from other doctors if yours dismisses your symptoms. “Don't give up on your health because someone gave you an opinion from a mind that lacks training,” Shree says. “Trust your body and trust yourself first.”
