In our youth-obsessed culture, it’s not uncommon for women, after they reach a certain age, to start to feel a little unseen. As Valerie Albarda writes in The Huffington Post, the media “perpetuate[s] this myth, which has become entrenched in our psyche, that we’re only vital when we’re young...we tend to buy into this and actually expect to feel bad when we reach midlife.” Or worse than bad—invisible. It’s a strange paradox, given that many of us hit our stride personally and professionally and feel like we’re in the prime of our lives when we’re in our 40s and 50s.
On top of that, our bodies undergo major changes during menopause, and even though we know those changes are natural, they still can be jarring. And not just physically— many women report feeling "isolated and unmoored." And there are not a lot of resources to help us navigate the process.
Until now.
As Chief Product Officer of Twill, I saw a need to develop a dedicated platform to support women and help them feel seen and heard as they go through this midlife transition. So we created Twill Care for Women & Midlife, a care community focused on meeting the needs of perimenopausal, menopausal, and post-menopausal women. It's an online space for women ages 40 to 65 years old to connect, get information they can trust from healthcare professionals, and access Twill’s evidence-based, self-care tools.
What is Twill Care?
Twill Care is a lively community where people can exchange personal insights, ask what’s working for others, and share what’s helped them. The platform includes influencers, or “Helpers,'' who are further along in their patient journey and can provide emotional support. Twill Care is also a channel for receiving information from healthcare professionals; each community includes clinical experts who contribute posts about what they’ve found helpful for their own patients, as well as research, industry news, and general disease education.
Twill Care identifies content and tools most useful to members, customizing their experience. Through AI and machine learning algorithms, the platform can suggest treatment options, behavioral interventions, condition-specific tools, or interactions with patients who have similar journeys. Based on the member’s interactions, Twill Care keeps learning from the data to gain insights about their progress, measure their improvement, and continue serving up relevant recommendations.
How Twill Care Supports Women’s Health
More than 4,000 women enter menopause every day in the United States, but only one in five OB/GYN residency programs provide menopause training to support them, according to AARP. 84% of women experience menopause symptoms, and more than one in ten (12%) say their symptoms can be severe or debilitating. Twill Care for Women & Midlife addresses the unmet needs of these women by weaving together chronic condition management tools with medical and mental health support.
Twill Care Women & Midlife members can communicate with an array of specialized healthcare professionals—such as OB/GYNs, mental health experts, ophthalmologists, and nutritionists—about concerns related to menopause, as well as bone health, cardiovascular issues, mental health, insomnia, and migraines. The platform provides a forum where they can discuss the physical, emotional, and life changes they are experiencing and develop meaningful connections with others in the same phase of life.
Original content (articles, infographics, and videos) is another benefit that keeps members coming back. Everything is clinically reviewed and written in approachable, easy-to-understand language, covering topics like sleep, diet, stress management, career, relationships, and family. A few of the most popular articles so far are:
Inspiring Women—and Creating a New Way to Support