Menopause and the Microbiome

This transitional life stage represents a perfect storm of hormonal fluctuation, immune modulation, barrier dysfunction and microbial shifts. Yet microbiome assessment and support in midlife is frequently fragmented, oversimplified, not integrated or missed altogether.

The microbiome has now been shown to be implicated in every acute symptom and long-term risk associated with peri/menopasue, including hot flushes, mental health and cognition, cardiometabolic function, weight gain, genitourinary syndrome, immune function, bone density and fracture risk. There is no doubt that effective and nuanced clinical assessment and management of hormone and microbiome changes are integral to effective holistic clinical care.

Across this two-part series, we will take a systems-based, clinically practical deep dive into the gut, genitourinary, skin and oral microbiomes, examining how microbial ecology changes during perimenopause and menopause shaping the life stage experience and what this means for symptom expression, systemic health, disease risk, and long-term health outcomes.

This webinar is essential viewing for holistic and integrative practitioners supporting hormonal transition periods.

About Your Presenters

Rhiannon has been working in hormonal and reproductive health for over 20 years, and in the last 5 years her practice has primarily focused on peri/menopasue. With the added advantage of having worked with most of her patients long-term, Rhiannon has tracked countless individual's hormone and microbiome markers over time, bringing a unique insight into the specific trajectories and patterns seen in this cohort. This nuance is routinely overlooked in both functional and conventional practitioner education on this subject. Rhiannon brings with her a wealth of experience of both functional and conventional interventions (including menopausal hormone therapy- MHT) to both her everyday practice and practitioner training.

Moira is a naturopathic clinician with 25 years of clinical experience, and a PhD focused on the vaginal microbiome. Over the past nine years, her work has concentrated on genitourinary and microbiome health, with particular emphasis on the dynamic interplay between hormones and the microbiome across life stage transitions, including perimenopause and menopause.

Her approach integrates clinical practice with research, enabling her to translate emerging microbiome science into meaningful, clinically applicable insights. Moira is known for her ability to bridge complex research and practical assessment, helping practitioners and clients understand how microbiome- host interactions influence health, symptoms, and long-term outcomes during hormonal change.

Her work reflects a systems-based, evidence-informed perspective, providing valuable tools and frameworks that support more precise and effective clinical decision-making.

Course Content

• Microbiome shifts across perimenopause and menopause.

• Gut, hormone, immune interactions in midlife.

• Oestrogen metabolism, the estrobolome and nuanced considerations for this unique window.

• Genitourinary microbiome changes, GSM and recurrent infections.

• Skin and oral microbiome alterations and inflammatory patterns.

• Oestrogen variability, barrier integrity and microbial resilience.

• Common clinical patterns and overlooked contributors to symptoms.

• Where testing is useful, where it isn’t, and how to interpret results meaningfully.

• How holistic practitioners should be assessing, prioritising and supporting patients during this stage.

  
  

Learning Outcomes

• Understand the physiological drivers of microbiome change during perimenopause and menopause.

• Identify prevalent microbial patterns associated with common midlife symptoms and conditions.

• Develop confidence in assessment strategies across gut, genitourinary, skin and oral ecosystems.

• Apply clinically relevant, evidence-informed support strategies tailored to this life stage.

• Integrate microbiome-aware care into broader hormonal, immune and metabolic framework.

• Advanced clinical understanding of the integration of functional and conventional (including menopausal hormone therapy- MHT) hormone and microbiome therapies.

Details

⏰ Two x 2-hour sessions.

🗓️ Presented live 7pm Sydney time Wednesdays 18th March and 22nd April, 2026.

🎥 Ongoing access to recordings.

📖 Includes detailed notes, tools & resources to assist with easy application in a clinical setting and up-to-date references.

💰 Payment plan available.

🌎 International practitioners, email us for a GST-free invoice.

🤓 Participants eligible for 4 CPE points upon completion.