CHARLESTON, West Virginia — Oscar winner Halle Berry joins forces with U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito to advance the health, education, wellness and empowerment of West Virginia women and girls, particularly in menopause research.

Berry and Capito visited the capital on Wednesday, where the duo stopped at Piedmont Elementary School for a Girls Rise Up event before heading to the main branch of the Kanawha County Public Library to lead a panel discussion on menopause with women’s health experts from across the state.

At the panel, and on her 58th birthday, Berry shared her personal story of menopause and the fears she experienced during this time, in an effort to advocate for a new bipartisan bill called the Advancing Menopause and Mid-Life Women’s Health Act, which would shed more light on this time of women’s lives.

Berry said she wanted to be a voice for all women going through this confusing and often very emotional time.

“In that moment, I felt compelled to use my voice and do something about it and change that reality for myself. By changing it for myself, I change it for other women.”

She said that, without knowing it, she woke up one morning and had a terrible shock about her health. A gynecologist told her that she had herpes, the worst case he had ever seen.

However, after she and her husband were tested for the STD, they discovered that neither of them had it. Her doctor later called her and told her that she did not, in fact, have herpes.

However, she later learned that she was suffering from a menopausal-related condition that her doctor was unaware of.

Berry said she also found that there was still little knowledge about menopause and its symptoms. Only 13 percent of doctors in the country knew exactly what it entailed. She said many other doctors and society as a whole just didn’t want to talk about it.

“You know, it’s always been a mess, women have been so ashamed, so stigmatized at this time of life, doctors can’t even put it into words,” she said. “One of my doctors wouldn’t talk to me about my worsening eye disease and the tears in my eyes because he was afraid to tell me it was because of menopause.”

Earlier this year, Berry traveled to Washington, DC to advocate for new menopause legislation and speak to about a dozen female senators, including Capito.

Capito, a co-sponsor of the Menopause Advancement Act, said the legislation will lead to more federal studies on the issue.

“A lot of it is based on what Halle explained, and it’s basically research. As I looked into this issue more closely with her and others, I realized that it doesn’t really start when you’re 55, 56 or 48. Whenever you start, the symptoms start much earlier,” Capito said.

She said the research into the problem that the bill will advance will result in more information becoming available and doctors and healthcare professionals being able to find better treatments for it.

Capito said it would be legislation that could benefit all women at this stage of life.

“Basically, this is just about summarizing what we already have, but at the same time putting more emphasis and investing more money into research into what will play a role in every woman’s life if she lives long enough,” she said.

Capito said she found through her own research that there are only three doctors in the state who could be considered experts in menopausal symptoms.

She said that while Berry will raise awareness of the issue across the country, she especially wants to show her the impact the problem has on rural communities here.

“What access do we have, what kind of barriers are there for rural America? Because as we know, the health freedom system is different in these different areas,” Capito said.

Several female health experts spoke at Wednesday’s panel, including Sherri Young, Cabinet Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Health, and Cynthia Persily, Secretary of Human Services for the West Virginia Department of Health.

Young said it is crucial to approach menopause with the same seriousness and dedication as other major health changes.

“By improving education, research and access to health care, we can significantly improve the quality of life for women in West Virginia and ensure that no woman has to navigate this stage of life without the support and resources she needs,” Young said.

Persily emphasized that the state’s Medicaid program could play a critical role in expanding access to menopausal health care.

“By working with federal initiatives like this one, we can ensure that women in West Virginia have access to the care they need, no matter where they live. With more women entering menopause every day, the need for comprehensive care and support is more urgent than ever, and Medicaid can play a key role in ensuring these services reach even our most rural communities,” Persily said.

Berry said that if a woman had more information about menopause and what actually happens in the body during this transition, the years between 45 and 60 could be the best years of her life. She wants to work to shed more light on the issue.

“I’ve realized that women deserve more. We deserve optimal health care and have the right to spend the second half of our lives in good health,” Berry said. “Women live longer than men, but we live in poor health. Why is that? That’s why I’m working tirelessly on this bill to raise research and funds, raise awareness and free women from the stigma.”

Capito said that while they are getting some interest in Washington with the bill, which now has 16 co-signers, she still does not expect it to pass this year. She said they plan to first tie it into other bills and raise more money and attention so that it can pass sometime in the near future.

There are currently 75 million women in the United States who are in perimenopause, menopause or postmenopause, yet research shows that only 30% of U.S. residency programs offer a formal menopause curriculum.