TV's Linda Barker gives menopause advice to her 30-year-old daughter

The top gift you can give your daughter is a lesson on the menopause: Former Changing Rooms presenter Linda Barker working to ensure women are more prepared for ‘the change’

• Linda Barker wants to ensure women are better equipped for the menopause 
• She said schools should be more responsible to include it in the syllabus
• Barker suffered from sleepless nights went three years before seeing a GP
• She started taking HRT and did ‘more yoga, more cycling and more swimming

A mother’s advice to a daughter is priceless, whether it’s on the lightest or most serious of subjects.

And for former Changing Rooms presenter Linda Barker, the greatest words of wisdom she says she has given to 30-year-old Jessica is on coping with the menopause.

The interior designer, 61, who spent ten years going through ‘the change’ after first getting hot flushes in her late 40s, says she knew nothing about it at the time.

Ms Barker now wants to ensure young girls and women are better equipped than she was.

Former Changing Rooms presenter Linda Barker said the greatest words of wisdom she says she has given to 30-year-old Jessica is on coping with the menopause

The interior designer, 61, who spent ten years going through ‘the change’ after first getting hot flushes in her late 40s, says she knew nothing about it at the time. Ms Barker now wants to ensure young girls and women are better equipped than she was

‘I said [to Jessica] “the best gift I could give you is the knowledge”,’ she told the Mail. ‘She said she’s better prepared than ever now.

‘There are still a lot of myths and taboos around it. It’s relevant to teenagers as well as women in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond. When we’re kids and we have our first period it’s confusing.

‘Then another strong, female change in our lives is the menopause and still women are in the dark or they don’t want to discuss it or they’re confused about it.

‘Research shows there are a lot of women who keep quiet about it – even to their own daughters. I have a good relationship with Jess. I talk to her about everything – the good, the bad and the ugly.’

Ms Barker, who has been married to TV executive Chris Short for 30 years, said schools should have more of a responsibility to include the menopause in the syllabus. ‘It’s very hard for a 13, 14, 15-year-old girl to grasp it,’ she said. ‘Everybody should talk about it.’ Ms Barker, who also suffered from sleepless nights, went three years before seeking help from a GP. She then started taking HRT and did ‘more yoga, more cycling, more swimming, more work in the gym’ to help combat symptoms.

‘I thought I was never really going to be important or valued as a woman any more,’ she said. ‘I think the menopause made me feel… like I would be invisible.’

But the star, who said she now feels ‘as strong as I ever did’, added: ‘Modern women, we will spend the majority of our lives post-menopausal.’

Ms Barker was speaking ahead of the launch of Changing Wombs, a menopause video series by Essity which sees her team up with her daughter.

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