Every woman’s relationship with her fertility is unique, but – in a world that has always valued a female based on what is happening with her womb – there is a trajectory most of us recognise. As teenagers, we are terrified of getting pregnant. For a small window in our 20s, we are allowed the luxury of choice – pregnancy feels so easy that we can “leave it until later”. But we hit 30 and suddenly “later” becomes today. We are told to hurry up and have a baby before it’s too late. With each year that passes, so too do our options. Then comes the menopause – more than 400 periods later, they begin to stop, only to be replaced for many by unpleasant symptoms.
In recent years, television has started to explore this wild, wonderful, infuriating, mind-boggling and, at times, horribly unfair journey. But it’s only now that the later chapters are being told – in the likes of The Change (Channel 4), the debut comedy series from Bridget Christie. The 51-year-old comedian, who also performs standup shows about going through the menopause, has created a tale that both scrutinises and celebrates the experience. It is shot through with the kind of nuance that can only come from somebody who has been in the thick of it.
