of the world's population will experience it.

But until recently, it's been a pretty hush hush topic, menopause.

That's the biological Faison woman's life.

When will stop permanently intial no long, no longer be able to become pregnant in recent years.

The topic has gotten more attention and now 3 new pieces of Illinois legislation seeks to remedy some of the longstanding problems by expanding menopause, education treatment coverage and more.

Joining us now with more are state Representative Camille Lilly, a Democrat whose district covers parts of Chicago's West side and neighboring western suburbs.

And Polly Mackey, professor of psychiatry psychology and obstetrics and gynecology.

The lot the University Illinois.

Chicago.

Thanks to both for joining us.

We appreciate it.

Thank you for having So Professor Mackey, let's start with the difference between menopause and para menopause.

Help us understand, please.

>> menopause is a day in a woman's life.

It's her final menstrual period.

The time around that is called the Perry Menopause.

Perry actually means around.

So it's the time leading up to the final menstrual period and the time afterward, it's basically what we call the menopause transition.

It's when the ovaries are shutting down and our hormones are trying to get to a steady state.

That's the change that came here for about the process.

So as we mentioned, Governor JB Pritzker recently signed 3 menopause related bills into law, one of which creates the Illinois menopause.

>> Equity and Care Act.

This act improves access to health care requires the Department of Public Health to create educational materials regarding menopause for online viewing and makes discrimination in a pause related condition.

A civil rights violation.

Representative Lillie, why was it important for you to back a law like this?

I'm a woman.

>> Menopause impairment as a natural part of life.

And we have been struggling with understanding it as a society.

And doctors and we wanted to make sure that education was in front of us.

We want make sure women was filling respect it.

They want to make sure when was feeling heard when they talk to doctors and they talk to the family members, it's a natural part of life.

We what women and there it.

Children, daughters to begin to talk about this.

>> Let's get into that in just a little bit right, because I feel like this is the kind of thing, generationally like grandmothers and mothers of ours.

And what did they say about this when you were growing up?

What did you hear?

Absolutely nothing.

>> And then when I did ask my grandmother who lived to be 104.

>> She I didn't have any menopause problems and I'm like.

>> A few good way to because she didn't recognize it was just how she lived.

My mother.

She had menopausal issues, but she never talked to us about When I got to do is simply that's when I start talking about menopause and then people would knowing me.

Until they start experiencing things.

They didn't understand.

>> before we move on from legislation, what should women know about the timeline, representative, given that some of the provisions take effect in 2027 and some in 28.

>> With the mom.

The education piece and were doctors and you can chime in on this as well where doctors have the opportunity to be educated menopause impairment.

Paul's and it becomes is an incentive for them to come.

More educator around these issues and it will go one hour towards listed requirement.

So that's the incentive for them to get involved with understanding their patients in understanding that what they're going through the next stage of life.

And so that's immediate.

All right.

>> Professor Mackey, what are some of the common symptoms of menopause that someone might experience?

I think the symptom that most of us think about is hot flashes.

So when they happen during the day, their hot flashes that night, they're called night sweats.

Their experience by about 50 to 75% of women in my hot flashes are her hot flashes.

our experience of them can vary 30% of us sales through menopause without any disruptive symptoms.

But then we can look at racial and ethnic differences and black women experience hot flashes for 10 years on average.

So let's think about that.

That means that 50% of black women experience hot flashes for more than 10 years.

So this is a symptom that's been dismissed by society and we really need to, you know, pay attention to it.

There's solutions for this.

Another one that people was linked to menopause but is very common.

In fact, is the most disruptive symptoms, sleep disturbance.

And this is related to hot flashes not related to hot flashes.

So you cannot have hot flashes but have disruptive sleep and we have treatments for that too.

And then some women experience mood changes, particularly in the Perry menopause.

So when our hormones are changing in the Perry menopause because they don't go down gradually, they fluctuate and those fluctuations can make some of us very sensitive mood.

Wise.

Think about postpartum depression and how after we deliver a child hormone supplement, we have those changes were vulnerable to depression.

And then there's the topic that I study that's close to my personal priority list, which is cognitive health.

We want to have the best functioning memory and attention that we can.

All of these are very common symptoms a lot of women referred to the brain fog.

yes, Other to pieces of SB.

3325 in SB.

3688, both expand deposit occasion for health care professionals >> as as as you mentioned, representative.

But less than a 3rd of American OB Gyn residency programs offer menopause, curriculum of any kind.

That's according to the Journal of the Menopause Society representative, what he hopes in the long term benefits will be of this legislation long term.

More physicians or health provider getting this training is only 100.

>> Professionals that are being trained in 100.

No, we doctors, they're all.

only professions been trained peer menopause minute more state double that of Tripoli.

100, the state of Illinois.

Yes.

100 ever ever.

So I want to make sure is that we are making sure that the 94% of the women.

Who Anne with com don't address there.

I'm gonna pause of symptoms.

We want to make sure that number changes right now.

70% of them going to treat 70%.

We want that number to go to 100% are treated.

So we have a lot to do.

Yeah.

And that's particularly important because the more aware we are of our symptoms more we want care.

>> our providers can questions, where do we go to the Internet where there's a lot of people making a lot of money on not evidence-based approaches to care.

And so it's really important that we be able to answer the needs of women with evidence-based care.

Professor Mackey, what is, you know, that sort of lack of training.

But what does that also say about the attention that the medical industry, medical schools?

>> Research and development.

What does it say that the attention that has not been given to this issue, that half of the population will >> So I've been in this field for almost 30 So I would it from its infancy to its moments.

And it's more than a moment because there was a tipping point.

I think there are a lot of factors that play into it.

There's a societal idea that women aren't done once they have their children.

There are societal norms about what it means to be use phone to be beautiful.

But when it comes to medical training.

You know, your family physician needs to know everything from the rash on your arm to how to treat hot flashes.

And I don't blame the clinicians for not knowing this.

We really just have to prioritize based on the fact that half of the population is going to transition through menopause right?

And so health care providers where they're at in women where they're at providing evidence-based care.

That's the solution that women need.

>> Representative the Mayo Clinic estimates that menopause related symptoms cost the U.S.

26 billion dollars in medical expenses and lost work time every year.

How might menopause affect a woman's work?

Life?

>> Now, I saw some numbers wears globally is 150 billion globally.

The lot of money, World Economic known for And that's and people are losing their jobs.

People are more having more health costs, meaning women, which is affecting the entire family.

So.

Economics is Kia I had when I first got to the general said, mom, think I think during the Middle pass stage was magic.

Women should pick up just a little bit more.

Because we have to do a little bit more just to achieve a quality of life.

What's happening is in the Beavers.

We're losing the work for power and we bring a lot to the workforce as women.

We're not out of and I symptoms are gone.

Untreated.

Professor Mackey, what do you think?

This has been sort of a hush hush topic.

It's been taboo in about 20 >> people used to dismiss menopause symptoms as benign without understanding how severe and enduring they can be for women and also how they can affect other aspects of our health, like a brain health and like our heart health with improved understanding from improved research funding.

We have a more comprehensive understanding of the effects of menopause and so many things.

And I think there's more awareness, right?

We certainly have a generation of women now who are talking about it out loud, just merely by the fact that the 3 of us are having this conversation