A special one-time viewing of “The M Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause” will be presented at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 15 at Southlake Theater, 4720 Nelson Road, Suite 110.

The documentary —which premiered in October 2024 on PBS — aims to educate women on a physically and emotionally transformative time in their lives: menopause.

Owner of Revitalized Health Dawn Hinton said she was inspired to host a free showing of “The M Factor” for Southwest Louisiana because of the misconceptions surrounding menopause and hormone treatments. Misconceptions about hormone treatments date back to 2000, she said, with research that said menopause hormone treatment can cause breast cancer, blood clots, strokes and heart attacks.

“A lot of providers are scared to give patients hormones. They can be shut down by their provider because of their lack of education or lack of knowledge on hormones.”

The Menopause Society — a nonprofit organization that provides health care professionals with resources — found only 20 percent of OB-GYN residency programs offer formal training on menopause.

Revitalized Health is a Lake Charles medical practice that offers hormone programs to treat perimenopause, menopause and andropause — the slow decline of testosterone levels in men as they age.

Hinton said the taboo of menopause, and lack of knowledge about hormones and women’s symptoms during perimenopause and menopause — depression, fatigue, anxiety, hot flashes — are detrimental for the 55 million women experiencing menopause in the United States.

“A lot of women don’t understand that it’s not just about symptoms. It’s also about prevention of heart disease, dementia, osteoporosis, the things that actually land us in the nursing home,” she said. “I’m trying to bring awareness to the community, that they need to start advocating for themselves and their symptoms. People are quick to get on sleeping meds or ADHD meds or antidepressants versus actually treating what’s going on with their bodies.”

The key to tackling menopause is knowledge, and she said she found the documentary very informative. In just under an hour, “The M Factor” presents the experiences of women of diverse backgrounds, ethnicities and cultures alongside the expertise of doctors and policymakers.

Tickets for the showing are free but limited. They can be reserved online at eventbrite.com. For more information, call 337-214-0097.

Light refreshments will be provided and a cash bar will be available.