Melissa Boll, CNM, MSN, CSC, MSCP

What frustrates Melissa about the way midlife women are treated in the healthcare system? “It’s the invisibility,” she says. “Once they’re done having babies, women are de-prioritized, and their needs are often ignored. Women themselves put their children first, and the medical system does the same thing to them. My mission is to change that, and help fill the void in care.”

So Melissa added specialization in menopause to her decades of experience as a Certified Nurse Midwife with a masters in nursing. Her own experience inspired her to learn more: “In my 40s, I started feeling ‘off’—like my body was no longer familiar. I didn’t have hot flashes, but sex was painful. I felt infinitely dry! And my PMS was turning me into a fire breathing dragon of rage. I had to do research and essentially provide my own care. But I realized I was in perimenopause, and zeroed in on solutions that worked right away.”

Melissa became a Menopause Society Certified Practitioner, did her own research, “and got the broadest education I could.” She treats all the symptoms of midlife hormonal change, but sexual health is a particular focus. “If you want to be sexually active, we can help you have good sex for the rest of your life,” she says. “That doesn’t have to stop.”