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Faculty of Graduate Studies

Rachel de Molitor

  • BA Honours (St. Thomas University, 2022)

Notice of the Final Oral Examination for the Degree of Master of Arts

Topic

People are still calling it menopause—I’m not menopausal: Women in New Brunswick’s experiences and understandings of reproductive ageing

Department of Sociology

Date & location

  • Monday, June 22, 2026

  • 1:00 P.M.

  • Cornett Building

  • Room A317

Reviewers

Supervisory Committee

  • Dr. Katelin Albert, Department of Sociology, University of Victoria (Supervisor)

  • Dr. Athena Madan, Department of Sociology, UVic (Member)

External Examiner

  • Dr. Vera Caine, School of Nursing, University of Victoria 

Chair of Oral Examination

  • Dr. Helen Kurki, Department of Anthropology, UVic

Abstract

Perimenopause represents a significant yet understudied stage of reproductive ageing that is often framed primarily through biomedical understandings of hormonal change and symptom management. This research explores how women make sense of, experience, and respond to perimenopause within their everyday lives. Drawing on 11 in-depth interviews with self-identified perimenopausal women living in New Brunswick, Canada, the research examines how individuals understand themselves as perimenopausal, how they engage with or resist dominant Western narratives surrounding women’s reproductive ageing, and how perimenopause is framed as both a biological and socially constituted experience.

The findings demonstrate that perimenopause is not experienced solely as a biological transition but rather as a biopsychosocial life-course transition shaped by cultural narratives of ageing, prior reproductive experiences, and anticipated reproductive futures. Participants often described becoming aware of perimenopause as prompting reflection on identity, bodily change, and future ageing trajectories. Experiences of perimenopause were also strongly shaped by social and structural contexts, including workplace expectations, caregiving responsibilities, access to healthcare services, and varying levels of knowledge about reproductive ageing.

Many participants reported delayed recognition of perimenopause due to limited prior knowledge and described the broader information landscape as fragmented and overwhelming. Although health-care providers were frequently consulted, participants commonly expressed frustration with limited clinical knowledge and support. Discussions surrounding hormone replacement therapy emerged prominently and were frequently framed through health maintenance or risk assessments.

Overall, this research highlights how individuals actively negotiate biomedical authority, 4 societal expectations of productivity and resilience, and narratives about ageing when interpreting and responding to perimenopausal changes. By centering lived experiences, the study contributes to broader understandings of reproductive ageing. The findings underscore the importance—both in research and in care delivery—of advancing more expansive understandings of the menopause transition that recognizes its connection to ageing and highlight the need for improved health-care provider education and clinical guidelines, more responsive and person-centered services, and workplace policies that acknowledge and support diverse experiences of reproductive ageing.

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