LOS ANGELES, March 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The team behind the widely viewed PBS documentary The (M) Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause is returning with a prequel focused on a stage many women and doctors still overlook—perimenopause.
Set to begin premiering March 19, 2026, on PBS, The (M) Factor 2: Before the Pause examines the hormonal transition that can begin in a woman’s mid-30s and last up to a decade. Despite affecting millions, perimenopause remains underdiagnosed, misunderstood, and frequently dismissed.
The film is being made available free online at the link below: https://www.pbs.org/show/the-m-factor-2-before-the-pause/
Directed by Jacoba Atlas and produced by Tamsen Fadal, Emmy-winning journalist and host of The Tamsen Show Podcast; Denise Pines, president of the Osteopathic Medical Board of California and founder of WisePause Wellness; and Joanne LaMarca Mathisen, Emmy-winning producer; the film blends personal narratives with medical expertise.
“We’re starting this conversation earlier — at 35, not 50,” say producers Fadal and LaMarca Mathisen. “Too many women are told they’re too young or are misdiagnosed. This film is about validation, visibility, and prevention.”
The film launches amid growing national attention on women’s midlife health. Unlike many awareness campaigns, The (M) Factor 2: Before the Pause expands beyond the screen with:
- A 10-city national screening tour with live panels
- Employer roundtables on menopause-inclusive workplace policy
- A free e-learning course for employers, developed with Midovia
- The NextGen Survey capturing national perimenopause data
- A Menopause Provider Directory connecting women to vetted clinicians (menopausecaredirectory.com)
“Perimenopause is often the beginning of long-term health shifts,” says Pines. “When we educate earlier, we improve heart health, bone health, mental health — and women’s economic stability.”
Major supporters include Alexandra Cohen, President of the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation and owner of the New York Mets, and Alloy Health, with additional support from Pandia Health, Monarch, MenoWell, and Symphony Natural Health.
The (M) Factor 2: Before the Pause is produced by Women in the Room Productions and Take Flight Productions.
For more information or to host a screening, visit TheMFactorFilm.com.
Press Contact: Ginger Campbell, ginger@snap-productions.com
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SOURCE Women in the Room Productions and Take Flight Productions
