For women 50+ navigating change with courage and curiosity, wanting to feel confident, grounded, and inspired. Join Jo each week for a conversation about confidence, menopause, reinvention, wellbeing, relationships, and ageing well. Real stories. Practical wisdom.
joblackwellmidlifeandbeyond.substack.com (https://joblackwellmidlifeandbeyond.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)
Pelvic Health After Menopause: What Women Need to Know
There are some parts of women’s health that many of us were simply never taught to talk about.
Pelvic floors. Vaginal dryness. Prolapse. Bladder leakage. Painful sex. Even wind.
For many women of our generation, these subjects were either whispered about or dismissed as simply “women’s problems”. And perhaps that’s one reason so many women quietly put up with symptoms for years.
In this episode of Midlife & Beyond, I’m joined by pelvic health physiotherapist Melody Norton-Evans for an open, practical and reassuring conversation about what really happens to our pelvic health as we move through menopause and beyond.
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Melody’s message is wonderfully clear: these problems may be common, but that doesn’t make them normal – and there is often something we can do about them.
We talk about:
• What actually happens to the vulva and vagina as oestrogen declines• Why vaginal dryness and discomfort can develop after menopause• Bladder urgency and stress incontinence• The different types of pelvic organ prolapse• Why constipation can have such an impact on the pelvic floor• Vaginal oestrogen and why it differs from systemic HRT• Vaginal moisturisers versus lubricants• Why simply being told to “do your Kegels” isn’t always enough• How pelvic health physiotherapy can help• Why some women actually need to learn to relax their pelvic floor• Whether running, jumping and other exercise should be avoided• The simple everyday habits that can help protect our pelvic health as we grow older
Perhaps most importantly, we talk about the embarrassment that still surrounds this part of women’s health.
Some women live with symptoms for ten years or more before seeking help. They adapt their lives around finding toilets, avoiding journeys, worrying about leakage or putting up with painful sex.
We shouldn’t have to quietly make our lives smaller.
As Melody says, ageing is inevitable. Frailty isn’t.
This is one of those conversations I wish women had been encouraged to have much earlier.
Ageing Wonderfully Well: The Good News About Midlife and Growing Olderhttps://geni.us/AgeingWonderfullyWell (https://geni.us/AgeingWonderfullyWell)
Get full access to Midlife & Beyond with Jo Blackwell at joblackwellmidlifeandbeyond.substack.com/subscribe (https://joblackwellmidlifeandbeyond.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)
6 Oct 2026
Menopause, Healthy Ageing & Why Your Best Years Aren’t Behind You
What if menopause isn’t simply something to endure – but a transition we can prepare for, work with, and perhaps even grow through?
This week, I’m joined by Lisa Jedan, host of the Menopositive Podcast, for a wonderfully energising conversation about menopause, healthy ageing and the possibilities that lie on the other side of midlife.
Lisa believes we need to change the menopause narrative from one of decline to one of possibility. We talk about why so many women arrive at perimenopause feeling unprepared, why looking after ourselves so often slips to the bottom of the list, and the surprisingly simple foundations that can help us build greater health and resilience for the decades ahead.
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But our conversation goes far beyond menopause.
We explore the messages women absorb about ageing and usefulness; the value of older women in the workplace; what different generations can learn from one another; and the importance of remaining curious, engaged and open to new experiences as we grow older.
Lisa also shares a wonderfully practical philosophy: start where you are. Better health doesn’t have to mean climbing mountains, transforming your diet overnight or becoming someone you’re not. Small changes compound.
We talk about:
* changing the menopause story from decline to possibility
* preparing for perimenopause rather than simply reacting to symptoms
* the foundations of healthy ageing: eating well, moving, sleeping and listening to your body
* why small changes really do matter
* strength training, bone health and investing in your future self
* the difference between lifespan and healthspan
* ageism and the value of older women at work
* intergenerational learning
* keeping our brains curious and engaged
* the language we use about our own ageing
* why our 50s, 60s and 70s can still be vibrant, meaningful decades
As Lisa says, we may spend a very large part of our lives post-menopause. That’s a lot of life still to live.
And perhaps the most interesting question isn’t simply how we get through menopause.
It’s who we become because of it.
Feel free to share with a friend who might need to hear this episode!
ABOUT LISA JEDAN
Lisa is the host of the Menopositive Podcast, where she explores menopause, longevity and healthy ageing with experts from a wide range of disciplines.
Find Menopositive here: https://www.menopositive.life (https://www.menopositive.life/#Episodes)
and on your usual podcast platform, and on Instagram: @menopositive.life (https://www.instagram.com/menopositive.life/)
ABOUT JO
My work is about challenging the tired stories we’re told about ageing and exploring what it means to live well – and keep becoming – in the second half of life.
My book, Ageing Wonderfully Well:https://geni.us/AgeingWonderfullyWell (https://geni.us/AgeingWonderfullyWell)
Get full access to Midlife & Beyond with Jo Blackwell at joblackwellmidlifeandbeyond.substack.com/subscribe (https://joblackwellmidlifeandbeyond.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)
29 Sept 2026
What We Inherit From Our Mothers: Healing Generational Trauma
How is your relationship with your mother?
For some of us, that relationship is warm and close. For others, it is complicated, painful or marked by something that was missing. And even when we love our mothers deeply, we may still find ourselves repeating emotional patterns we don’t fully understand.
In this episode, I’m joined by psychotherapist Vanessa Wallace to explore generational trauma and the experiences that can travel through the female line.
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Vanessa shares her own powerful story: her mother’s struggles with mental health, being sent to boarding school at nine, her years of addiction and the discovery of a painful family secret involving the grandmother she never knew.
Our conversation isn’t about blaming our mothers. It’s about becoming curious about the circumstances that shaped them – and recognising that they, too, were influenced by the women and families who came before them.
We talk about:
* What generational trauma and epigenetics mean
* Mother loss and childhood abandonment
* Why so many women carry “mother guilt”
* The emotional mirroring children need
* How wartime attitudes towards strength and emotion may still affect us
* Recognising inherited responses to stress
* Inner-child work and becoming our own loving parent
* Boundaries, people-pleasing and resentment
* Whether we can stop painful patterns passing to another generation
As Vanessa says, there is no dividing line between the “bad” generation and the “good” one. Healing is a gradual movement towards greater awareness, self-compassion and healthier ways of expressing what we feel and need.
This is a thoughtful and compassionate conversation about mothers, daughters and the stories that came before us.
Content note: This episode includes discussion of addiction, childhood abandonment, family trauma and mental ill health.
Find Vanessa
https://www.crystalclearcoaching.org/books-freebies/ (https://www.crystalclearcoaching.org/books-freebies/).
Website, courses and retreats: https://www.crystalclearcoaching.org (https://www.crystalclearcoaching.org)
Healing the Mother Line: https://www.crystalclearcoaching.org/blog/healing-the-mother-line/ (https://www.crystalclearcoaching.org/blog/healing-the-mother-line/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crystalclearcoach/ (https://www.instagram.com/crystalclearcoach/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
Vanessa’s forthcoming book is The Mother Solution. Her website currently lists it for autumn 2026. Crystal Clear Coaching (https://www.crystalclearcoaching.org/blog/a-conversation-between-jj-van-zon-and-vanessa-wallace-on-authenticity/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
Find Jo
Ageing Wonderfully Well: The Good News about Midlife and Growing Older:https://geni.us/AgeingWonderfullyWell (https://geni.us/AgeingWonderfullyWell)
Get full access to Midlife & Beyond with Jo Blackwell at joblackwellmidlifeandbeyond.substack.com/subscribe (https://joblackwellmidlifeandbeyond.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)
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