Menopause Basics and Hormone Therapy: A Conversation with Dr. Betyshia Belardo

Christine interviews Dr. Betyshia Belardo, a board-certified Obesity Medicine physician and Menopause Society Certified Practitioner and founder of CaliberMD, about menopause care for midlife women. Belardo defines menopause as the single day marking 12 consecutive months without a menstrual cycle, with perimenopause as the years leading up to it (often starting in the 40s and sometimes earlier in African American women) and postmenopause thereafter. They discuss how the Women’s Health Initiative contributed to fear around hormone therapy and how later analysis suggested benefits and lower risks when started within 10 years of the last period, versus increased risk when started later. Belardo emphasizes hormone therapy is individualized with contraindications (e.g., clot/stroke history, certain breast cancers), notes nuanced options like vaginal estrogen and non-hormonal treatments, encourages women to ask clinicians and seek specialists, and advocates for earlier, open conversations so women don’t feel they must suffer.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

01:00 Personal Wellness Origin Story

01:29 Menopause Defined Clearly

02:31 WHI Study and HRT Fear

05:10 Who Should Consider HRT

06:31 Contraindications and Vaginal Estrogen

07:08 Breast Cancer and Nonhormonal Options

08:07 Advocating for Yourself

10:27 Breaking the Menopause Taboo

11:19 Thriving Through the Transition

12:15 Part One Wrap Up