Full report- FY2020 annual report
MISSION:
To provide independent, accessible, and evidence-based information:
- To improve the diagnosis and treatment of menstrual cycle-related ill health
- To help people manage their health & wellbeing
- To save the NHS unnecessary time and expense
- To bust myths that only serve to marginalise people who menstruate
HEADLINES:
Oh dear… Website traffic is significantly down on last year (by approx. 40%)… I guess this is not too surprising given that I am now in the final year of my PhD and took some time out to write a book chapter, too. However, it is still disappointing when the blogs and symptom pages remain highly original and relevant, and the website is still the only evidence-based resource on this topic in the world! Oh well… I guess I’ll have some promoting to do when I’m no longer a full time student. In the meantime, if you find any of the posts or pages useful or of particular interest, please do share with your networks!
I suppose it’s also worth bearing in mind that last year was super successful (e.g. page visits were up 800% on the previous year) so some reduction was probably inevitable. The website still managed to reach over 70,000 people in the past 12 months- so that’s still a lot more than I had hoped for when I first set up Menstrual Matters. Considering the poor state of menstrual health education, I take heart in knowing that tens of thousands of people are finding out how to improve their cyclical symptoms and/or bust those menstrual myths!
Top 10 blog pages:
- Period pain- what’s normal? – link
- Mood and the menstrual cycle; a missing link in understanding depression and anxiety- link
- 6 Breath-taking facts about hormones and asthma… – link
- Cycle length- what’s normal?- link
- Menstrual maths # 1: Why we say ‘people who menstruate’ – link
- Top 10 menstrual myths- link
- The myth of physical virginity- link
- You are what you eat; 8 steps to better hormonal health- link
- Top of the mops- an independent comparison of period products- link
- Managing periods when you have a visual impairment- link
Top 10 symptom management pages:
- Muscle and joint pain – link
- Restless legs/ pins and needles- link
- Mid-cycle bleeding- link
- Dizziness- link
- Ovarian cysts- link
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome- link
- Fuzzy brain- link
- Sensitivity to light, noise or odours- link
- Fatigue- link
- Nausea- link
Symptom checker app:
Good news! The number of people using the symptom checker app has increased by over 200%- This year, over 250 people received personalised health reports and added their anonymised data to the world’s first database of cyclical symptoms!
To find out more, check out the full 12-page report… FY2020 annual report
Many thanks to my Uncle Denis for funding MM; Tsara Crosfill-Morton for being an excellent and motivated research intern; Hannah Whelen for keeping me sane and making me exercise; the many menstrual health and human rights activists who keep me motivated and provide support when needed; and last but not least, my lovely friends and family- without you, I definitely wouldn’t be able to keep going… THANKS!
