“We know, as of tonight, that there is help,” said fitness professional Jodi Mair as M Factor moderators Dr Dainia Baugh and Rose Tavares-Finson signalled the wrap of The M Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause
screening at Locale on Tuesday, October 29.

The #1 takeaway? Women are fed up and have decided it’s time to stand up and be heard. Standing with them are Tamsen Fadal, Joanne LaMarca Mathisen, and Denise Pines, producers of The M Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause, a film three years in the making, and centred on the lived experiences of women across the United States. The self-funded film premiered on October 17, with screenings taking place all over the United States. The first international screening took place last Tuesday at #ThePinkBuilding thanks to consultant internist and menopause specialist at the Heart Institute of Jamaica Dr Dainia Baugh.

There was an expectant buzz as like-minded women, eager to be the first on The Rock to view the film, enjoyed cocktail hour inside Locale. The chic setting, Flame in Thyme’s delectable treats, and Harbour Wines pours made for a memorable experience.

Meanwhile, on the outside, Aiesha Panton and her PussBackFoot team added finishing touches to the outdoor mini-theatre, outfitted with floral chandelier, plush ivory couches, and complementary fabric-draped walls.

After an hour-long mingle, the 50-plus guests made their way over to the viewing space. “We’re the first international centre to screen this film, so it shows that we’re constantly doing big things, and Jamaica is the place,” said Baugh to lusty applause.

At the end of the 56-minute film, which included gasp-worthy stats and cameras following women into their doctors’ offices, at work, and in their homes to expose the challenges they face — racial biases, gender-ignorant care, inequitable structures and systems, and barriers due to the lack of basic health care research — the room again erupted in applause. It was time for them, armed with the knowledge they’d gained, to open up about their experiences.

Baugh, now joined by OB-GYN at Charis Women’s Wellness Dr Sara Lawrence Lewis opened the discussions.

No need to fear…

More than two decades ago, the results of a landmark women’s health study challenged the safety of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) scaring women and pushing doctors to abandon its usage. The reluctance still lingers today.

“Thirty years ago, I had my own practice. I had just left practice at Vanderbilt… and I was prescribing hormones left, right, and centre. Largely because we were prescribing it under the impression that it was preventive… So I was among that group of doctors that the world came to a halt for in July 2022… The result of a study that [had] started in 1998.

“I had been in practice for two years, and we thought it would prove what we’d all been doing. Imagine five years later, data comes out, and it doesn’t come out by traditional means [meaning] in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA),” explained Baugh.

“I literally woke up to the news that hormones were causing breast cancer… the world as we knew it came to a halt when it comes to hormone replacement,” said Baugh.

Dr Lawrence Lewis chimed in, “Everyone was fearful of harming patients, and patients were worried about being harmed.”

Now they admit the reaction was largely overblown. “Because our demographic is different from some of the studies that had been put out, everything has to be taken in context. Truth be told, a lot of doctors remain tentative, because of the back story. However, the way we approach it is really no different than any other country, eveyone has to be risk stratified,” shared Lawrence Lewis.

“Tell the audience what we mean by risk stratification,” interjected Baugh.

“It is a way of testing your eligibility for taking hormone replacement. And the basis of that is, [for] every medicine we prescribe, the benefit has to outweight the risk,” explained Lawrence Lewis.

Consultant OB-GYN and menopause specialist Dr Astrid Batchelor entered the chat.

“As doctors, there are a lot of things that we do as discretionary for our patients. And hormones are something that we have to risk-stratify, because we know from the studies, there are things that are not beneficial at certain times in our lives, and can even be harmful at certain times in our lives. So, for me, I try to practise by the hook and the crook when it comes to hormones. And so the main indications for hormone replacement therapy and systemic hormone replacement therapy is always going to be vasomotor symptoms and persons who are at risk of osteoporosis and fragility fractures for osteoporosis,” said Batchelor.

Almost sensing the confusion, Batchelor quickly sought to clarify, “Vasomotor symptoms are not just hot flashes, the insomnia, brain fog, those things are under that umbrella… these [patients] are actually eligible for hormone replacement therapy, if other things are in place. So [for] that patient, I’ll give them. But what I don’t want to happen is all of these young women coming in, some as young as 35, and because of the ‘social medialisation’ of menopause, everybody just wants to feel good.”

“They come to the office and they talk about the lady on YouTube and the person on
TikTok who are telling them that they’re on oestrogen and testosterone, and they want it! We have to be responsible and let them know that you don’t need it. We do have to be firm with who we’re giving it to,” continued Batchelor.

Two hours in, the speakers still had a captive audience, and panellists concurred that the discussions could have continued all evening. But it was time to hear a video message from Assistant Professor of Cardiology at Yale School of Medicine Norrisa Haynes, MD. Haynes was scheduled to join the panel on October 18, but with a change in date due to inclement weather, she was unavoidably absent at Tuesday’s screening. She did, however, send a video message discussing how menopause affects heart health, emphasising the importance of exercise to mitigate risk, adopting a healthy lifestyle, managing stress, and hormone replacement therapy.

Physiotherapist Dr Raejean Porter was also on hand to impart her knowledge. “I’m here to tell you it doesn’t have to hurt to get older… we can do Zumba, we can do spin classes, right, Rose [Tavares-Finson]?” On her approach to her patients, particularly women, Porter said, “It’s never one size fits all.. It’s going to be tailored to what your needs are.. I treat patients; I don’t treat diagnosis.”

The evening wrapped with a Q&A and a message from the event’s sponsor, founder and chairman of the Heart Institute of the Caribbean Professor Ernest Madu.

“This has been an eye-opener for me… it has been a wonderful event… with a lot of knowledge shared, and a lot of learning, but the conversation will continue after this. We know that we will have a fantastic conference in January, and the conference will focus on women’s health. We host the Masters of Medicine Conference every year, we’ve been doing that since 2012 with a co-hosted event with Vanderbilt University… 2025 is going to be with Yale University, [and] we’re expecting about 15 faculty members who will be speaking, as well as other international speakers,” said Madu.

In May Oscar award-winning actress and women’s rights activist Halle Berry yelled, “I’m in menopause” on Capitol Hill as she championed her fight for funding to improve women’s care. As the celebrity attention continues to chip away at the stigma around menopause, The M Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause — a passion project of executive producers Joanne LaMarca Mathisen, a former television executive with
NBC’s Today Show and Tamsen Fadal, an award-winning journalist — is transforming the conversation even more profoundly.