Menopause, midlife & mindful sex: A mindblowing conversation with Dr. Lori Brotto

Thank you so much for joining us on the podcast today. I hope you enjoyed the chat as much as I did. Thank you so much to Dr. Brotto for sharing her passion, her knowledge and her dedication and commitment to women’s health and equity with us.Wow!!Trust me, there are WAY more than 5 takeaways from today’s chat, but here are my top 5 takeways:Mindfulness – it’s a combination of training our attention, focusing said attention on one target in a very particular way. It’s doing that with kindness and without judgement. It’s a way of being in the present moment.Mindful sex – When we bring the concept of mindfulness and bring it to sexuality. I don’t know about you, but I can remember how I felt when I first heard that. I was intrigued and needed to read on!Sexual concerns can be really prevalent during the menopause transition – so basically perimenopause and menopause. With vaginal dryness, genitourinary syndrome of menopause, low desire, a huge amount of changes in body image and emotions – there is a direct bearing on sexual function. And guess what? The vasomotor symptoms and even cognitive symptoms get better over time, but the sexual symptoms continue to persist over time.This is super important – a lack of desire is common. You are not alone! Women can have pain during sex because of vaginal dryness because of the decline in estrogen – the vaginal tissue can be more prone to tearing. And that can be painful. And when something causes pain, it’s just not something we are inclined to want to do.Not really a takeway, but I wanted to share this – I really enjoyed the book. I found it interesting, easy to access, relatable and helpful. For me, it’s a must read and I am looking forward to getting that workbook!The bottom line – there is a serious lack of research into women’s health – and when Dr. Brotto said that 2025 was the first time that menopause was included in the curriculum for medical students, I was gob smacked. How is this even possible?The conversation was so rich and I very much appreciate Dr. Brotto for sharing her time with us.Links:Dr. Lori BrottoInstagramLori Brotto | LinkedIn