Retailer says it is filling advice gap on subjects such as menstruation and hormones amid wellness-focused revamp

It used to be known mainly as a destination for dried fruit and vitamin tablets but now women can get advice on period pain, mood swings and sleep while shopping in Holland & Barrett.

The retailer has trained 600 staff to act as women’s health coaches after its research revealed demand for broader support on hormonal and menstrual issues, with menopause the “tip of the iceberg”.

Women with symptoms are being penalised, National Education Union’s annual conference told

The UK’s biggest teaching union is to lobby for menopause training to be made mandatory for all school leaders, saying women with symptoms are being penalised for sickness absence and disciplined on competency grounds.

Older staff were at greatest risk of “capability procedures”, delegates at the National Education Union’s (NEU) annual conference in Bournemouth were told, while others are being forced out of their jobs, affecting not only their income but their pensions.

Conversations about menopause have matured but the question of when and how to treat perimenopausal symptoms remains confusing – even to a science journalist

There’s a meme featuring a confident, suave, smiling Henry Cavill – the actor best known for playing Superman – posing for photographers on the red carpet. Sneaking up behind him is wild-looking, maniacally gleeful co-star Jason Momoa.

To me, this is the perfect metaphor for perimenopause. Cavill is at the peak of his career, he looks great, clearly feels great, exudes confidence, strength and self-possession. And he’s about to get crash-tackled by a capricious and unpredictable force.

Patients taking certain progestogens as a contraceptive or for gynaecological conditions may be more likely to develop growths, researchers say

Millions of women around the world who use certain hormone drugs for contraception and to manage conditions such as endometriosis may have a raised risk of rare, usually benign, brain tumours, researchers say.

Scientists found that prolonged use of certain progestogen medications was linked to a greater risk of meningioma, which are tumours (usually noncancerous) that form in tissues around the brain.

Trying to learn about menopause has been disorienting, but Angela Garbes has also experienced ‘a softening, an openness’

In my 20s and 30s, I went hard, driven by a desire to live life fully. I wanted to stay up all night having heated conversations, collect experiences and adventures, make art and meaning from everything that happened. Somewhere in the far-off distance I pictured myself making it to age 40, but never thought further than that: I would turn 40 ... and then I’d be s65?

My naivete died three years ago in the middle of the night. I woke up drenched in perspiration, shivering. It was shocking to find myself suddenly so cold and in the dark. Within a month, I was waking at least twice a week – three, four or even five times a night.

The neurologist and author on the upsides to menopause, the truth about HRT, and what superpowers become available to women after their body and brain’s transition

Menopause marks the end of a woman’s menstruation. But, starting on average at around 47 and taking four to eight years, it doesn’t just impact the body: thanks to the accompanying decline of the hormone oestrogen, it impacts the brain too. Lisa Mosconi studies that impact. Her new book, The Menopause Brain , examines the neurological symptoms of menopause, the new mental skills it can foster and the options for brain-inclusive menopause care. Mosconi, 46, is an associate professor of neurology and radiology at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, where she directs its Women’s Brain Initiative and Alzheimer’s Prevention Program, run jointly with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Menopause is a hot topic ! What does your book bring that is new?
A neuroscience perspective. And it is a part of menopause that’s been excluded or not acknowledged clearly. While hot flashes are generally recognised as a side-effect of menopause, most doctors simply won’t make the connection with other brain symptoms. But our ovaries are in direct communication with our brain, which is hardwired to respond to the oestrogen and other hormones they produce. And while our ovaries close up shop, our brain needs to keep going. That can bring glitches as our brain adjusts. I am here to say: you’re not crazy!

The Menopause Brain by Lisa Mosconi is published by Atlantic (£14.99). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at guardianbookshop.com . Delivery charges may apply

In a complex area of women’s health, simplistic answers centred on hormone replacement therapy must be resisted

The recent pronounced increase in public discussion of the menopause has been a welcome shift. Like miscarriage and birth injuries, this aspect of women’s life experience – and healthcare – has often been shrouded in embarrassment. In the UK, a “menopause revolution” led by the Labour MP Carolyn Harris succeeded in getting the cost of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) reduced to less than £20 a year. Between 2021 and 2023 the proportion of UK women aged 45 to 64 prescribed HRT rose from 11% to about 15%.

This is widely viewed as a corrective after many years during which it was underprescribed due to exaggerated fears about side-effects, including an increased risk of some cancers. Women with debilitating symptoms such as broken sleep and low mood too often went without any treatment at all. Last month the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) issued new guidance asserting that if symptoms are serious and long-lasting, they can be regarded as a disability – meaning employers must make reasonable adjustments. Meanwhile, a new series of papers in the Lancet has called for more support for the one in 10 women who experience early menopause, before they are 40.

From a better understanding of menopause to flexible working, women share the measures that would really help

Efforts by some workplaces to support women going through menopause have been described as lacking, ranging from gift bags featuring tissues and paperclips , to simply ignoring the issue and letting employees muddle through – or leave .

But with guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) warning that employers could be sued for disability discrimination if they fail to make “reasonable adjustments” for women going through menopause, that could be about to change.

Medical researchers in US, UK and Australia point to healthier menopause perspectives in lower-income countries

Many companies have a commercial interest in portraying menopause as a “medical problem,” leaving women inundated with misinformation and pushed towards ineffective treatments, a series of papers published in international medical journal, the Lancet, has found.

The findings have prompted leading doctors and researchers – including those from the US, UK and Australia – to jointly call for a societal shift that challenges inaccurate assumptions.