Many Women Enter Menopause Without Clear Information

Editor’s Note: This research was conducted in partnership with Pivotal, a group of organizations founded by Melinda French Gates to accelerate social progress for women and young people in the U.S. and around the world.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nearly every woman will experience menopause, yet many women do not feel well-informed about this stage of life. Thirty-seven percent of women in the U.S. say they have a good understanding of the symptoms of menopause, while even fewer, 25%, say the same about treatment options for those symptoms.

These findings are from the Gallup-Pivotal Women's Health Survey, conducted online July 14-22, 2026, among 3,845 women and 1,296 men via the Gallup Panel. The study examines how women learn about, seek and receive care throughout their lives, including the menopause transition.

Many Women Learn About Menopause Only Once It Starts

Reported experience with menopause symptoms varies by age. Forty percent of women aged 35 to 44 indicate they have experienced symptoms of menopause or perimenopause, compared with 74% of women aged 45 to 54 and 59% of women aged 55 to 64. For many women, their understanding of menopause comes from experience.

Among those who have experienced menopause, 37% say they learned about it only when they had symptoms themselves. That same pattern shows up in how much women say they know at different ages. Sixteen percent of women aged 35 to 44 say they have a good understanding of menopause and all its symptoms, compared with 69% of women aged 65 and older. Understanding of treatment options is lower at every age level, reaching 49% among women aged 65 and older.

Family and Friends Outpace Doctors as Sources of Menopause Information

Women most often encounter menopause information through personal networks. About six in 10 have heard, read or seen information about menopause from family members (61%) or friends (59%), and 54% have come across it on social media. About half (51%) have gotten menopause information from doctors or other medical professionals, while 45% have gotten information from newspaper or magazine articles and 13% say they have used AI tools such as ChatGPT.

Direct conversations with providers are less common, particularly before midlife. Overall, 44% of women have ever discussed menopause with a healthcare provider, including 5% of women aged 18 to 34 and 27% of those aged 35 to 44, compared with 63% of women aged 45 to 54 and 73% of those aged 55 to 64.

Women who have had conversations with a medical professional generally rate them well, with 67% describing their provider as very knowledgeable about menopause and 26% as somewhat knowledgeable.

One in Four Women Seeking Menopause Treatment Have to Push to Be Taken Seriously

Three in 10 women aged 35 and older (30%) have sought or received treatment for menopause symptoms. Most of these women (78%) say their healthcare provider proactively addressed their symptoms. At the same time, about one in four say they had to push to be taken seriously or to receive treatment (24%) or had to see multiple providers before their symptoms were addressed or diagnosed (23%), and 20% say they were unable to get the care they felt they needed despite trying.

Menopause-Related Health Challenges Reach Into Work and Community Life

Among women who have experienced menopause, 28% say related physical or mental health challenges left them feeling limited in how much effort they could give at work, 23% say those challenges made it harder to care for themselves, and 22% say they stepped back from involvement in their community. About one in five report taking more frequent or longer breaks at work (21%) or making changes or accommodations to their work environment (19%).

For some, the effects extend to longer-term career decisions. Fifteen percent of women who have experienced symptoms decided not to pursue a promotion or leadership position, 12% reduced their hours, 11% felt overlooked for a promotion or leadership position, and one in 10 changed jobs (10%) or took an extended leave from work or did not return to work (10%).

In all, four in 10 women who have experienced menopause say it has negatively affected their life or work in at least one of these ways.

Implications

Menopause is a near-universal experience for women at midlife, but the Gallup-Pivotal Women’s Health Survey suggests the information and care surrounding it are uneven. More women learn about menopause from family, friends and social media than from medical professionals; less than half have ever discussed it with a healthcare provider; and over one in three who have experienced it learned about its symptoms only firsthand.

While most women who have sought treatment say their provider addressed their symptoms proactively, a sizable minority describe having to push for care, and many have experienced negative effects on work, self-care and community involvement.

Americans broadly view this area as a priority. Two in three U.S. adults (66%) say ensuring that all women can access comprehensive, affordable and science-backed menopause care should be a high priority (41%) or the top priority (25%) in the United States, and 62% say the same about funding breakthroughs into less-studied health problems that specifically affect women.

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