Scottish women in agriculture will be sharing how the menopause has impacted their farming experience as part of a campaign that is running throughout this month, led by wellbeing charity Farmstrong Scotland.
The campaign has also released a comprehensive menopause guide that covers symptoms, offers advice on supporting women that are experiencing menopause and highlights the resources available to them.
The month-long initiative, which coincides with Menopause Awareness Month and World Menopause Day (October 18), is set to feature podcasts, stories, a live event, blogs, and expert advice specifically tailored to the Scottish agricultural community, with female farmers and crofters from across Scotland sharing their personal experience.
Campaign
One of Scotland’s leading gynaecologists specialising in the menopause, Dr. Heather Currie MBE has joined Farmstrong’s catalogue of wellbeing experts, and she aims to offer her advice and support through podcast appearances during the campaign.
Dr. Currie is set to appear on Farmstrong’s ‘Blether Together’ podcast in an episode that will also feature women in working agriculture who will be sharing their personal experiences.
Dr. Currie said: “It’s great that these women who are involved in farming have come forward to share their experiences for this campaign, to show that it’s not all about hot flushes.
“The menopause is individual to everyone who experiences it; symptoms can be different, lifestyles are different, and the impact is different.”
Speaking on how men can help out, she recommends that they should not be so eager to offer solutions to women, but instead to be present and understanding.
“Men like to try and fix things, but this is something they can’t fix.
“Just be there; it is for each woman to work out herself what to do, but it would be great if men could understand what’s going on and then work through it together – looking at resources together is a great place to start,” Currie noted.
Menopause
Farmstrong plan to release further menopause-related content throughout this month, including a story with farmer Christine Cameron on her experience of perimenopause in her mid-forties.
Cameron explained: “It’s not about asking men to do everything for menopausal women on the farm or croft, but if we can help them gain a better understanding of why we might need a bit more time or react a certain way to some things.
“Working with livestock can be an intense and stressful thing to do at the best of times, more so as a couple, and menopause symptoms can really exaggerate that sort of thing, so patience is needed on both sides.
“I can walk away from a day in the fanks and think I’ve been useless, which is probably never true; raising awareness of how it can make you feel is bound to help both men and women,” she added.
Farmstrong
The director at Farmstrong, Alix Ritchie spoke on why she was so keen to drive this campaign forward: “More than a third of the agricultural workforce in Scotland are female, plus countless wives and partners who support farm operations, and 100% of them will at some point go through the menopause.
“As a charity focused on health and wellbeing, it naturally appealed to me and the team to open up the discussion on this more specifically to Scottish farming and crofting.
“Providing a platform for those peer-to-peer stories to be told and shared with the whole community is so important, and from the responses we’ve had, it’s clear that many women in the Scottish agricultural community are willing to have these conversations, and we’re very grateful to all of them for coming forward to help raise awareness for everyone’s benefit.”
