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AIC 2024: Recognizing the Transformational Aspects of Menopause, With Wendy Warner, MD
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“In the menopausal transition, we become new people. Our physiology changes, our emotions change, our structure changes,” says IFM educator Wendy Warner, MD, IFMCP. “Often, we begin to feel invisible in our youth-obsessed culture. Yet research shows that the wisdom we have created by this time in our lives is vital to the population, especially to youngsters.”
In a plenary session during IFM’s 2024 Annual International Conference (AIC), Dr. Warner will address the essential, societal importance of women who are growing into the power and wisdom of elderhood while entering menopause.1 She will provide a holistic perspective on menopause as not just a biological shift but a profound and transformative journey that extends beyond physical and physiologic change.
Specifically, this session will explore the interplay between genetics and the menopausal experience, acknowledging the unique ways in which individual genetic predispositions and lifestyle factors influence the course of this transition. However, Dr. Warner’s narrative will go deeper and frame menopause as a time of renewal and rebirth, inviting women to view this stage of life as an opportunity for introspection and personal growth. By connecting the genetic underpinnings of menopause with broader themes of renewal and reflection, Dr. Warner will offer a paradigm shift that encourages a more positive and empowering outlook on the menopausal journey.
Dr. Warner is board certified in gynecology and holistic integrative medicine and is a certified functional medicine practitioner, an herbalist, and a mesa carrier. She is a nationally recognized speaker and educator as a member of the faculty for The Institute for Functional Medicine as well as for David Winston’s Center for Herbal Studies. Additionally, Dr. Warner is the co-author of Boosting Your Immunity for Dummies and a past president of the American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine.
References
- de Salis I, Owen-Smith A, Donovan JL, Lawlor DA. Experiencing menopause in the UK: the interrelated narratives of normality, distress, and transformation. J Women Aging. 2018;30(6):520-540. doi:1080/08952841.2018.1396783
