A recent USA Today feature spotlighted an important and often overlooked conversation: how Black women experience perimenopause and menopause differently, and why those experiences deserve greater attention within healthcare.

The article featured Dr. Kudzai Dombo, board-certified OB-GYN, menopause specialist, and founder of The Hukadzi Way, as part of the growing national dialogue around menopause awareness, health equity, and culturally informed care.

Recognizing the Signs Earlier

For many women, the first signs of perimenopause appear long before they realize hormones may be involved.

Fatigue, sleep disruption, anxiety, mood changes, brain fog, hot flashes, weight changes, and a general feeling of being unlike yourself are often dismissed or misunderstood. Many women attribute these changes to stress, busy schedules, aging, or the demands of everyday life.

While those factors certainly play a role, hormonal changes are often an important part of the picture.

The challenge is that many women do not recognize the connection until symptoms have already begun affecting their quality of life.

Why the Experience Can Be Different for Black Women

Research has shown that Black women often enter perimenopause earlier, experience symptoms more intensely, and remain symptomatic longer than white women.

Yet despite these realities, many women still feel unprepared for the transition or struggle to find providers who fully listen to and validate their experiences.

This gap between experience and support highlights the need for more inclusive conversations around menopause, greater representation in research, and broader access to evidence-based care.

When women do not see their experiences reflected in the conversation, it becomes harder to recognize symptoms and seek support.

Looking Beyond Symptoms

For Dr. Dombo, this work is deeply connected to her whole-woman approach to healthcare.

Through The Hukadzi Way, she focuses not only on symptom management but also on helping women understand the interconnected factors that influence wellbeing during midlife, including sleep, stress, nourishment, movement, emotional health, community, and long-term prevention.

“Too many women spend years believing they simply have to push through their symptoms. Menopause is not something to endure in silence. It’s a health transition that deserves attention, understanding, and support.”

— Dr. Kudzai Dombo

When women understand what is happening in their bodies, they are better equipped to advocate for themselves, seek appropriate care, and make informed decisions about their health.

Menopause Is a Whole-Body Health Transition

Perimenopause is far more than a hormonal shift.

Changes in hormone levels can affect cardiovascular health, metabolic health, bone density, sleep quality, mood regulation, and overall wellbeing. For many women, it is also a period marked by increased caregiving responsibilities, career pressures, changing family dynamics, and evolving personal priorities.

The physical and emotional changes often happen simultaneously, which can make symptoms feel even more overwhelming.

Understanding menopause as a whole-body health transition helps women move beyond symptom management and focus on long-term wellbeing.

Closing the Gaps in Care

The USA Today feature also highlights broader healthcare disparities that affect Black women, including delayed diagnosis, limited menopause education, and lack of access to culturally informed care.

Conversations like these are helping more women recognize symptoms earlier, seek support sooner, and understand that they do not have to navigate this transition alone.

At the same time, Dr. Dombo emphasizes the importance of evidence-based information. As menopause conversations continue to expand across media, healthcare, and wellness spaces, women deserve guidance that is rooted in both science and compassion.

Through her clinical work, speaking, advocacy, and educational efforts, Dr. Dombo continues to champion a more informed and supportive approach to women’s midlife health.

Because menopause is not simply something to survive.

It is a major life and health transition that deserves understanding, support, and care.

Read the full USA Today feature about Dr. Dombo here.

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Related Pillars of The Hukadzi Way™

• Hormones
• Community
• Healthspan

Learn more about The Hukadzi Way™ and Dr. Dombo’s whole-woman approach to midlife wellness.

Explore The Hukadzi Way™ →