‘What Matters With Liz’ Episode 3: Dr. Mary Claire Haver Advocates for Women in Perimenopause — ‘You Deserve to Be Prepared’ (Exclusive)
The top menopause doc is changing lives by helping women make the most of midlife
You may know Mary Claire Haver, MD, as the world’s leading perimenopause and menopause doctor. But that wasn’t always the case. As a board-certified ob-gyn, she had a comfortable life as an obstetrician…until she spotted a major blindspot in medical care: treating women in the hormone fluctuations of midlife. “I didn’t even know how to do it,” she says, noting how med students don’t get menopause training. She wondered, would anyone understand? Would patients visit a new clinic? She shares, “To go out on a limb, I felt like Field of Dreams. ‘If you build it, they will come.’”
And they did! Now Dr. Haver, a New York Times bestselling author, has millions of online followers and countless grateful patients. In this exclusive episode of What Matters with Liz, Dr. Haver talks about her own midlife health journey and what women facing perimenopause and menopause need to know to live the next decades to the fullest. Get ready: This podcast episode is about to change your life!
Watch What Matters With Liz Episode 3 here or listen on Spotify, Amazon Music and Apple Podcasts.
Woman's World Answers
Watch Episode 3 right here! ‘What Matters with Dr. Mary Claire Haver: Perimenopause, Hormones & Reclaiming Your Health’
Dr. Haver on what perimenopause really feels like
It’s easy for any woman, even a physician, to miss the signs of perimenopause. Dr. Haver overlooked her sleep troubles, belly-fat weight gain and mood swings. “I can remember in peri…My resilience was off. I would fly off the handle to the littlest thing,” she recalls. “I remember driving my children down the street, and something one of the kids did, I lost my mind. And I slammed on the brakes to make a point. In the middle of the road. That’s not something a normal person, a healthy person in a happy place, would do. And I couldn’t stop myself!”
Now with the power of hindsight, Dr. Haver recognizes, “This was a predictable response to what my poor little body was going through.” She tells women, “It was biology, not psychology.”
The message Dr. Haver would tell her younger self
Dr. Haver reveals that she recently wrote a letter to her younger self. (It’s in her new book, The New Perimenopause.) What she would tell her 35-year-old self if she could go back in time: “Something’s coming…Not only are your hormones going to go through this massive fluctuation and then go away, your brothers are going to get sick, your marriage is going to be tested, your kids are going to become teenagers and push you in different directions. You need to get ready for this. You deserve to be prepared for this.”
On championing older women and changing the world
Back when Dr. Haver was in medical school, traditional physicians weren’t taught much of anything about the crucial midlife life stage for women. Things are slowly getting better, but generations of women suffered needlessly from lack of menopause care. That’s why Dr. Haver pivoted her career toward older women.
This is her “why” that guides her into the future: “Women can approach this transition…and live the next 30 years of their life with agency and education and options. I think that is the most important thing,” she says. She knows the loss of hormones in midlife creates a domino effect in the body, weakening our bones, brain and heart. “If we could change that trajectory and give women back the person who they built, and allow her to be her again, I think we can change the world!”
On the surprising upsides of menopause
She shares this message of encouragement for women in perimenopause and beyond: “I don’t want them to be scared of it. This is happening, and it can be a brilliant transition for women,” she assures. “It really is a time that a lot of women are ‘cutting the fat’ out of their lives. They’re really just focusing on what really matters. They’re being forced into this position of, hey, I can’t be all things to all people. I have to take care of me first. And then decide what’s most important once I center myself.”
On not ignoring seemingly unrelated symptoms
Sure, we’ve all heard about the big symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats. But why should we care about lesser-known things like menopausal brain fog? Because they’re not just minor inconveniences. They can have dramatic effects on our lives. “Between one in 10 and one in five women are quitting their jobs because of [midlife] brain fog,” shares Dr. Haver. “It’s that devastation of ‘what’s wrong with me?’”
Whether you’re experiencing brain fog, frozen shoulder or elevated cholesterol levels, Dr. Haver has advice in her book to help you deal with every seemingly unrelated symptom.
On the safety of hormone therapy
“For the vast majority, an overwhelming majority of women, hormone replacement therapy is safe and beneficial, and you’re not selfish for taking it,” she says. “You are at a place in your life where the loss of hormones is affecting every organ system of your body.” But she assures, “We can help you get some of those [hormones] back.”
And although Dr. Haver confirms you can be healthy without hormone therapy, she doesn’t think there should be a taboo around the decision. “Elevated cholesterol is natural. Erectile dysfunction is natural. Presbyopia is natural.” Doctors treat those conditions with medication, so why should menopause be any different? “We know that women are healthier in general when they take hormone therapy. They live longer, the data is clear. They have less cardiovascular disease, they have less osteoporotic fractures. Why are we siloing this [issue] for women’s health?”
On risks vs. rewards in midlife and beyond
Dr. Haver finds that men are often treated differently than women by doctors. “With men, we lead with reward, not risk. When we talk about erectile dysfunction and Viagra, we always talk about, well, it’s going to make your life better.” She adds, “But for women, when we’re talking about her sexual function, we always lead with the risks. ‘Is your libido really that important? Is your quality of life really that important?’” Her answer is yes: She wants women to have agency over their lives. She says, “What every woman deserves is an educated conversation and then let her make her own decision for her own health.”
What Matters With Liz airs every Wednesday on YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music and Apple Podcasts, with highlights and behind-the-scenes clips shared on Instagram and Facebook.
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