UA92’s Sport students were lucky enough to be joined by Emma Neville this week to discuss overlooked topics in women’s health, such as menopause.
As Women’s Health Ambassador at UA92, Emma is on a mission to raise awareness and knowledge of everything women’s health, from menopause to endometriosis. After being diagnosed with POI (Premature Ovarian insufficiency) at 40, she felt like a statistic, and worked towards becoming an accredited menopause coach. She later founded This Is Me, ‘an online space for women to find community as we navigate life’s challenges together’.
Emma’s shared statistics around the day-to-day realities around gynaecological issues. For example, 44.6% of women wait more than 18 week for gynaecology treatments, and 90% of women had no menopause education at school.
“Education is key,’ said Emma, ‘There is a long way to go but it’s brilliant that the conversation is now being had. I’m opening the conversation for myself but also for my girls, for the next generation. We’ve shut up about a lot of things for many years but now it’s time to use your voice.”
The session sparked discussions about how menopause can be affected by activity and nutrition – the perfect opportunity for our Health, Exercise and Sport students to advise on a diet for perimenopausal women, using their learnings from the course so far. Alongside this, Sports and Exercise students were tasked with researching the affects of menopause on the body, finding that the decrease in bone density and muscle mass increases chance of injury and osteoporosis.
“Biggest advice for young women is get strong now,” Emma advised ‘Our bodies are so mechanically different to men, so we have to consider this in our exercise, our diet. Prioritise yourself and your health. Get to know you and your body.”
She also encouraged the young women in the room to go to their cervical screenings, which are available from the age of 25 and look for abnormal cells in the cervix.
“It was fantastic to have Emma Neville in to speak to our Health, Exercise and Sport and Sport and Exercise Science students today, on a topic that is very prevalent and often taboo in today’s world,” said Christina Cunningham, Sport Lecturer at UA92, “It has only recently become part of the school curriculum, but isn’t yet a mainstream subject in higher education. As future practitioners, it’s important that awareness and knowledge of women’s health takes a leading role for our Health students.”
Find out more about the Health, Exercise and Sport degree at UA92.
