Pair to 'tackle taboos' about women's health

Organisers Katie Winearls (left) and Jen Evans say they want to transform women's healthcare

Two women say they are on a mission to transform women's healthcare by bringing a conference to Suffolk for the first time.

The Let's Talk Women's Health event aimed to "tackle taboos" and "end the ignorance around women's health conditions", organisers said.

It will include expert talks and workshops on women's health issues including menopause, breast cancer, fertility and endometriosis.

Organisers Jen Evans and Katie Winearls said "there is a desperate need for a better understanding of women's health".

Mrs Evans, from Ipswich, a menopause adviser, said she was inspired to create the not-for-profit event after her own experiences.

"In my early 40s, I had symptoms of what I now know to be perimenopause, which led to the opening of a Pandora's box of women's health conditions that, even as a woman, I didn't know much about," she said.

Ms Winearls, also from Ipswich, said she believed women deserved better information.

"It has become glaringly obvious that, as women, we often have very little understanding of our own bodies until we are already in the depths of a change or health concern," she said.

"We should not have to resort to unreliable or antiquated information online to get the answers we need."

Ms Winearls also said she believed conversations about women's health should include everyone, not just those who identified as female.

Local businesses, including Nuffield Health Ipswich Hospital and Ascender Creative, have funded the project.

The event will take place at The Hold in Ipswich on 22 March.