Our Complete British Sign Language Menopause Resource
We are very proud to announce that we have officially completed our Menopause Information Library resource! All 48 videos include British Sign Language (BSL), subtitles and audio, and cover a range of topics including: what is the menopause, causes, symptoms, various treatments, impact on sleep, nutrition, exercise and libido.
We’ve worked with medical professionals (specialising in menopause), experienced BSL Interpreters, and our local Deaf community in Birmingham to ensure the information provided is accurate and accessible for everyone.
Below you will find our videos split into different categories, depending on the level of information you want to learn about the menopause. If you would like to watch all videos, take a look at our menopause playlist on YouTube.
BSL menopause resources
These videos explain the different signs, words and phrases you might come across when talking about the menopause and explains these in British Sign Language providing context.
Common questions
In these videos medical professionals from My Menopause centre, with support from Holland & Barrett, answer questions people often ask about the menopause, BSL is provided throughout.
BSL menopause resources
Full length video recordings of our menopause workshops provide more in-depth information about the menopause, symptoms, treatments, looking after your health & wellbeing and contraception and libido.
Why did we create this?
The menopause can be a complex and isolating time, often surrounded by confusion about symptoms and treatment. While awareness is growing, deaf and hard of hearing women can face additional barriers to accessing clear, accessible information, including materials in BSL.
This project started following a research proposal by Sarah Bown from the University of Wolverhampton, undertaken in 2018/19, across the region and further afield which BID Services helped facilitate. The research findings highlighted the lack of accessible support and information around the menopause available to D/deaf women with only around 7% reporting access to information in BSL and 60% not being informed enough about the menopause. The University of Wolverhampton has built on this research with BID Services and My Menopause Centre supporting this, identifying what has changed, the impact of this project and what more needs to be done as detailed in the infographics below.
University of Wolverhampton Research 2018/19.
University of Wolverhampton Research 2023/24.
Since the Summer of 2023, we have been collaborating with medical professionals from My Menopause Centre (which has since been acquired by Medichecks), Sarah Bown and Kristiaan Dekesel, specialists in Interpreting and Deaf Studies from the University of Wolverhampton, and our local Deaf Communities in Birmingham to help raise awareness of menopause for deaf and hard of hearing women across the country. We hope these resources will also support health professionals, increasing awareness in how to provide appropriate information in a way which is accessible for the individual they are working with.
We would like to say a huge thank you to the Deaf community of Birmingham, to My Menopause Centre, to the wonderful BSL interpreters, to the University of Wolverhampton and to Holland & Barrett for helping us deliver this project, develop our accessible Menopause resources and raise awareness of this important topic.
Our project was funded through a Fairer Futures grant from Birmingham City Council, on behalf of the Birmingham & Solihull Integrated Care System.
To view our Menopause resources please visit our Information Library.
If you would like to find out more about this work, or have any feedback, please get in touch at marketing@bid.org.uk.
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