Menopause is a profound transition in a menstruating person’s life. Yet, for something so universal, it remains widely misunderstood and under-supported. Imagine going through a significant life change, like becoming a parent, without guidance or a support system. This is often the reality for those navigating perimenopause and menopause. But what if there was dedicated support and a knowledgeable presence to hold space during this complex journey? I had the pleasure of talking with my Menopause Doula, Cella Simon, about the unique needs during this midlife transition and the emerging role of menopause doulas in our culture. Doula support in menopause for me, proved itself essential and I believe it could transform the experience of menopause collectively.
The Meandering Path to the Menopause Doula
For Cella, a deep commitment to human development and healing has guided her career. She began in early childhood education, where she gained a strong understanding of the complexity and constancy of change. A pivotal moment came during her pregnancy when she met a postpartum doula for the first time. She immediately realized that this was the work she was meant to do, and she began her postpartum doula practice in 2002. As a doula, Cella finds a strong sense of purpose in being present and holding space for families as they navigate the transition of new parenthood.
Beyond doula work, Cella also practices a variety of health and wellness modalities, including massage therapy, reflexology, yoga, and meditation. She holds a master’s degree in organizational psychology, which adds a unique perspective to how she manages inevitable change, for both organizations and individuals. Cella’s work as a health coach encompasses many of these modalities, allowing her to weave together the best of all of her passions, holding presence with people, helping them identify their core values, and creating plans to navigate transitions in their lives with more ease.
It was the combination of her doula work, her own life experiences, and health coaching that naturally led her to the field of menopause doula care. I sensed the need for a menopause doula just before my scheduled hysterectomy last August–it was intensely personal. As someone often in the role of “helper” and “expert,” I found myself wanting support not only to honor the transition and bring ritual into it, but to help me to center me amidst the whirlwind that is healthcare, surgery, and life. The emotions and logistics came fast, and I realized that I needed to intentionally devote time to how I was feeling and what I needed as my natural tendency is to experience things for others’ benefit as opposed to my own. I needed someone to remind me that ‘this is happening to you, Juliana’ and ‘how are you doing / feeling, Juliana.’
I vividly recalled telling my friend “I need a doula. I wish there was a menopause doula”. I knew I didn’t want a therapist, and wanted something more official than my friends–I needed someone with the “personality” and “skillset” of a birthing doula. It shocked me that after talking to hundreds of women about menopause that I hadn’t yet heard anyone talk about working with a menopause doula before. When my work with Cella began I was both excited and hopeful that there was this incredible option for people, and simultaneously, I was angry that it wasn’t more well known as a resource.
More Than Just a Moment: The Need for Sustained and Dedicated Support
My surgical menopause did not just include my surgery, but truly affected (and still does) every facet of my life. Instant menopause affected who I am as a person, my physical body inside and out, and my needs. Experiencing menopause is wildly different than reading about it or even teaching about it. It’s completely unique to each individual and that’s why doulas can be so perfect for menopause. Menopause doulas can uniquely support us during this time because:
- Menopause is still misunderstood and under-supported: Despite its significance, there’s a profound lack of understanding and support, though that is changing as we can see with the boom of media attention it’s receiving (rightfully so).
- Menopause is unpredictable: You can’t control and frankly predict how it’s going to go for you and feel for you. For me, the lack of control and predictability was one of the hardest parts, on top of the physical, mental, and emotional symptoms.
- Healthcare appointments are often too short: Even with a great health team, 15-minute appointments limit the ability to dive deeply into what a person is going through. In contrast, doula sessions, like Cella’s hour-long appointments, create space for deeper conversations and a more personalized understanding of your experience.
- Individualized care is lacking and that’s isolating: People can feel incredibly alone in this process and may feel isolated if they don’t have individual support to discover their own experience of menopause. While there are commonalities, your menopause will not be like anybody else’s. Comparing oneself to others’ journeys can easily turn into self-judgment, especially if your experiences are different from others, or if you make choices that are unpopular but are right for you.
- Information can be overwhelming and decisions can cause fatigue: There’s so much conflicting data and so many opposing opinions that can lead to overwhelm and feeling frozen when you’re trying to make the best decision for you. A doula can help to sort through options, support you in your own decision making (with agency), and track the journey for you as you go.
- Bandwidth is diminished: Day-to-day stressors pile up, especially in our current political climate, and that means everyone’s cups are spilling over, making it harder to navigate the complexities of menopause and to give it the attention and time it deserves. Like holistic sexuality, it becomes a luxury when it should be a necessity.
The Doula’s Unique Role: Holding Space and Building Agency
So, what exactly do menopause doulas do? Cella explains the role as a multifaceted one, that is tailored to each individual. Broadly, it involves holding space for people in this incredibly important time of transition, and simply and compassionately being present with them through it all–attuning to their needs. Like a postpartum doula, the support can be practical or involve deep conversation–it depends on the person’s needs at the moment.
Some examples of how menopause doulas can support:
- Taking the time for a deep dive: Going well beyond what may come up in a medical appointment, you will have the time and space for care that’s tailored to you.
- Supporting mental and emotional wellbeing: Addressing all the feelings and vulnerability around the transition–the ups, the downs, the confusion, and everything in between with a keen sense of what’s happening internally that can affect mental and emotional wellbeing.
- Navigating lifestyle adjustments with accountability: Work together with patterns around sleep, nutrition, movement, and habits to cultivate a lifestyle that’s supportive of your unique goals, interests, desires, and needs.
- Preparing for health appointments: Helping clients formulate questions and prepare for medical visits fosters a strong sense of agency, which can significantly influence both the outcomes and the overall experience of the journey.
- Connecting to other support: Identifying if other practitioners or support people are needed to create a holistic network of support. We are multi-faceted and require many different outlets, inputs, and care.
- Family education and care: A doula can hold space not only for the individual but potentially for their partner, children, and other family members as well. It’s important to acknowledge that it’s an incredibly profound transition for the whole family.
- Providing perspective and context: Helping clients understand where they are within the broader menstrual health timeline, ensuring that a zoom-out perspective is held so they are able to see the bigger picture when things feel granular or overwhelming.
- Offering long-term support: Being available consistently or to return to as changes unfold over months or years is so unique. That ability to capture snapshots over time and to reflect back to each individual is a treasured part of doula support.
A key aspect of the doula approach that’s of special importance to me is: agency. Doulas know that the individual is the expert of their own body and experience! It’s not the job of a doula to come in and take over, but to offer flexibility and adaptability, meeting the client where they are and trusting the client to guide the experience through their innate wisdom. This approach helps build a culture of agency within menopause, which is almost always lacking and this is what has the power to change the culture globally.
And crucially, a doula is a witness. I realized I wanted someone to tell me that what I was going through mattered, I wanted to be seen, valued, heard, and supported and I wasn’t receiving that in my life around this transition. For anyone navigating menopause, especially if you feel confused, isolated, or lack a strong identity during the transition, being witnessed can be incredibly powerful and contributes to lifelong healing well beyond the time the doula work is done.
The Training and Community Behind the Support
Cella’s training at The Menopause School, founded by Fiona Catchpowle, is described as a blend of biology-based education and a holistic support network. The curriculum covers hormonal shifts, symptom management, emotional wellbeing, and lifestyle adjustments. The goal is to fill gaps in menstrual health awareness beyond menopause, and to simply help women better care for themselves. The training is comprehensive, and goes so far beyond just what we would call menopause–it touches upon emotional, spiritual, and physical aspects that are so often overlooked.
Cella believes, and I agree, that the training’s genius comes from a world-wide community of doulas. Fiona fosters a collaborative environment where doulas with a diverse breadth of prior experience work together, problem solve, and support each other. If something is outside one doula’s expertise (e.g., somatics, breath work, nutrition), they have other doulas to collaborate with. Cella feels she is equally held through her own process of becoming through The Menopause School. She says that “with a Menopause School doula, you’re not just getting your doula, you are getting a whole network of doulas who are really dedicated to working together to offer you the best, most far reaching care”. In this way, we all rise together and I’m looking forward to a future with more of that!
The Vision: 2025, The Year of the Menopause Doula
I am passionate about making menopause doulas a well-known resource and a valued profession. I think Fiona is absolutely a pioneer, forging ahead a new path for women to receive the care and support they deserve. Fiona believes 2025 will be the year of the menopause doula and I am ready and willing to do everything I can to support that mission, too! I believe widespread access to doula care in this time of life would fundamentally change the culture of menopause and therefore a vital aspect of women’s healthcare.
With more access we could:
- Lessen fear and increase understanding: Knowing there’s a dedicated place and person to speak with about what’s happening to you can lessen or abate fear, and support you to feel equipped and supported through the many highs and lows of this powerful time.
- Improve mental health: The ability to dive deeply into one’s unique experience in dedicated sessions, and being seen, heard, and valued by “your person” can immeasurably help with the numerous and understudied ways mental health is affected during this transition.
- Ripple effect: Supported women can better support themselves and others, and the ripple effect is infinite. There’s no limit to what’s possible professionally and personally when women feel good, confident, capable, and well from the inside out.
I dream of clinics of menopause doulas where people can go for proactive education early on (let’s start at 35!) and have ongoing support as menopause becomes more relevant for each individual. I dream of health insurance paying for it and it is a matter of WHO is your menopause doula and not what is a menopause doula. I envision a beautiful, accessible, welcoming environment where perimenopause is met with excitement, not dread – a place where someone is eager to help figure out who you’re becoming, making space for the entire journey and the process of change.
Moving Forward
This timely topic highlights the profound impact that dedicated, individualized support can have on navigating the often confusing and challenging transition of menopause. It’s about being seen, heard, educated, and agency-filled in your own unique journey. My vision is clear: by elevating the role of the menopause doula, we can shift the narrative from one of suffering in silence to one of support, excitement, and conscious transformation, ultimately changing the experience of menopause for generations to come. I truly believe menopause doulas have the ability to greatly impact women’s lives–emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually. Let’s make 2025 the year of the menopause doula.
Resources
Cella Simon, Menopause Doula
Offering personalized support both remotely and in person in Seattle, WA. Explore her services through her practice, Flourish Whole Health.
The Menopause School
Offers education to the public and training for individuals who would like to pursue certification as a menopause doula.