Misinformation about perimenopause on social media ‘putting women at risk’

Misinformation about perimenopause is putting women at risk of unintended pregnancies, unnecessary medication and missed diagnoses, experts have said.

Awareness of menopause and treatments such as hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been raised by efforts including a prominent documentary by Davina McCall.

But as a growing number of women encounter misleading information on social media, there are concerns that some could be led to false conclusions that can obscure real underlying health difficulties.

“Everyone thinks they’re menopausal,” said Dr Paula Briggs, a consultant in sexual and reproductive health. “So we are seeing younger and younger women asking for HRT when what they need is hormonal contraception, as they’re still fertile.

“I work in an abortion service and we’re seeing more women over 35 now who believe themselves to be menopausal and are gobsmacked when they become pregnant.”

Briggs said misinformation around perimenopause is concerning.

“I look at things like Instagram to see what they are exposed to and I am horrified,” she said, citing examples of women in their 30s being told to demand HRT if they are unable to sleep or are struggling with migraines – and to switch GPs if denied. Or women being told they should seek testosterone treatment.

“I’m not anti any of these things in the right person, but females produce their own testosterone lifelong, even women without ovaries, so the idea that everybody has to demand testosterone is bonkers,” Briggs said.

Dr Channa Jayasena, an expert in reproductive endocrinology at Imperial College London, also raised concerns.

“It’s great that there’s better [public] awareness [about perimenopause]. And I think many doctors are completely unaware about how debilitating the symptoms of perimenopause can be,” he said. “But the flipside of that, I think there’s a risk that some women are being mislabelled as having perimenopause when they have other things that are wrong.”

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Source: The Guardian, 25 May 2026