- New Women’s Wellness Commitment aims to support health needs and break down stigmas
- First campaign will help educate on hormones as nearly half of women (48%) feel dismissed when talking about their symptoms
- Retailer launches over 600 Women’s Health Coaches and the first of its kind free nurse helpline
- Celebrity Hayley Morris supports campaign to raise awareness of hormone health
New research has revealed that over a third of women (35 per cent) say there is a lack of education or readily available, trusted support and guidance on women’s health issues, including hormone health across the life-span from menstruation to menopause.
60 per cent of women agree there needs to be more access to information and support on women’s health, with a third (31 per cent) stating they were last equipped with information on their cycle and hormones when at school, or not at all.
Understanding the need, Holland & Barrett, the UK’s leading health and wellness retailer, is launching a long-term commitment to address four key areas:
- democratising access to support,
- closing the research gap,
- enabling health equity
- and leading in product innovation with women’s needs in mind.
The H&B Women’s Wellness Commitment* will kick-off with an awareness campaign on hormone health.
The ‘Own Every Day Of The Month’ campaign, supported by award-winning actor and writer, Hayley Morris, will aim to empower women to optimise their overall wellness by understanding the rhythm of their hormone cycle across their lifespan and break down associated stigmas.
Despite almost half (49%) stating they have experienced negative symptoms throughout their menstrual cycle, such as weight changes, low energy, stress, cramps, 48 per cent say they have felt dismissed when speaking about their symptoms, with health professionals ranking top of the list (16 per cent) versus employer (8 per cent), and partner (8 per cent) amongst others.
Over a quarter (28 per cent) of women admit to living with symptoms for longer than a year before seeking help, or not seeking help at all.
To support all women, Holland & Barrett is introducing over 600 Women’s Health Coaches to the high-street. Nearly every store will have a dedicated Women’s Health Coach with expanded training to offer a deeper level of expertise and confidential support on hormone health. Additionally, the retailer will extend its current women’s health training to all 4,000 colleagues to be able to offer guidance on personalised solutions.
A free general women’s health helpline will see trained nurses able to offer further support and guidance on the hormone cycle and any symptoms. The specialist nurses can also help prepare individuals for their GP consultation and offer advice on what they can do while they wait.
Lina Chan, Women’s Health Director at Holland & Barrett, said: “Women’s health has been under-served for too long. Being on every high-street, we are ideally placed within the community to support and help add quality years to life and truly champion wellness for all women.
“Our new long-term commitment will start by empowering women to understand their hormones, so they are in control of their marvellous bodies.
“Understanding and optimising the menstrual cycle can unlock a lot of the mysteries about women’s health and even help improve other areas of their wellness such as gut health, energy, sleep, skin and metabolism.
“By proactively engaging with our hormone health we can also better understand gynaecological conditions, fertility and the menopause as hormones sit at the core of these various life transitions where women can experience severe symptoms.”
The new commitment comes at a time when gynaecological conditions were rated the number one issue for 100,000 respondents to the government’s Women’s Health strategy, a 10-year strategy set out to boost health outcomes and radically improve the way in which the health system engages and listens to all women.
Hayley Morris, actress and writer, said: “I’m so proud to be able to support Holland & Barrett’s ‘Own Every Day Of The Month’ campaign, and be a part of a genuine movement for women to understand their health better, and the role of our powerful hormones within it.
“I’ve been on a real journey (it’s still going!) with my hormonal health, there have been really difficult times but understanding my hormones better is empowering and I will keep spreading the word!”
Alongside expert advice and support, Holland & Barrett offers a line of hundreds of products designed to help with the symptoms experienced through the cycle. C
ustomers can also find a hormone guide packed with expert advice to support women at every stage of their hormone cycle and the H&B Health Hub has been updated to include further advice and guidance on a wide range of women’s health topics.
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