Thriving Through Menopause: Ochsner LSU Health hosts public event on menopause awareness and education

SHREVEPORT, La. – October is designated as World Menopause Awareness Month and Ochsner LSU Health is shining a light on menopause through two lunch and learns to provide women with information and answer questions about menopause. 

This year’s focus is on emphasizing the power that nutrition, exercise, stress management, sleep and healthy daily habits can have on improving overall health and well-being during midlife and beyond.  

The events are on Tuesday, Oct. 14 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, 3455 Knight Street, Shreveport, La. and Friday, Oct. 17 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport – St. Mary Medical Center, 911 Margaret Place, Shreveport, La. The luncheon is free and open to the public.   

Menopause is a natural biological process that marks the end of a woman’s reproductive years. The average American woman experiences menopause at age 51, but the hormone level shifts that trigger menopause can begin years earlier. Perimenopause, also known as the menopause transition, usually starts in a woman’s 40s but for some it can begin as early as the mid-30s and can last anywhere from a few months to eight years. According to the National Institutes of Health, approximately 1.3 million women in the United States reach menopause each year. 

Ochsner LSU Health invites you to learn more from our distinguished panelists during a fireside chat Tuesday with Monica Sehgal, MD, an OB-GYN at Ochsner LSU Health – Women's Health Center, Kristen Kistler, MS, RD, LDN an outpatient dietician with Ochsner LSU Health, and Misty Alexander, Wellness Director at the YMCA. John Haynes, MD, an OB-GYN at Ochsner LSU Health – St. Mary Medical Center, will also join the panel on Friday.  

Attendees will leave the event with information and supportive resources essential for women to navigate this transition with confidence and ease. 

Thriving Through Menopause: A Lifestyle Medicine Approach 

Tuesday, Oct. 14, 11:30 a.m. 

YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, BHP Location 

3455 Knight Street, Shreveport, La. 

Friday, Oct. 17, 11:30 a.m. 

Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport - St. Mary Medical Center, Community Center 

Main Women’s and Children’s Entrance, 911 Margaret Place, Shreveport, LA 71101 

To register for the event, visit here or email Bonnie Hughes at bonnie.hughes@ochsnerlsuhs.org. To learn about health services at Ochsner LSU Health, visit ochsnerlsuhs.org 

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ABOUT OCHSNER LSU HEALTH  

The Ochsner LSU Health System of North Louisiana (Ochsner LSU Health) is a partnership between Ochsner Health, the largest health system in the state of Louisiana, and LSU Health Shreveport, which includes the Schools of Medicine, Allied Health Professions and Graduate Studies and a robust research enterprise. Ochsner LSU Health provides healthcare to more than 165,000 patients across North Louisiana. With numerous convenient locations, Ochsner LSU Health includes multiple outpatient facilities, clinics, three acute care hospitals — including North Louisiana’s only Level I Trauma Center and Level II Pediatric Trauma Center at its acute care hospital and a newly renovated hospital with women's and children's services in Shreveport, La. and an acute care hospital in Monroe, La designated as a Level III Trauma Center — as well as Louisiana Behavioral Health, providing inpatient and intensive outpatient mental health services in partnership with Oceans Healthcare. The system has more than 4,200 employees that work alongside the Ochsner LSU Health Physician Group of 950 physicians and residents in more than 65 specialties and subspecialties.