NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - Marylandian -- On trips, in group chats and at brunch tables, women in the Busy Mom Playdates community kept reaching the same conclusion: the sleepless nights, the brain fog, the changes in mood and body were not separate problems. They were perimenopause. Nobody had told them.

On Sunday, October 25, that realization becomes an event. Busy Mom Playdates will turn its fifth Shades of Pink gathering into Nobody Told Us, an intentionally small rooftop brunch at National Harbor led by a medical professional who will answer the questions these women have been asking each other instead of their doctors.

The format is deliberate. A qualified practitioner answers first, then the conversation opens to the room.

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"I'm not the doctor. I'm the woman asking the questions too," said Michelle Rose, founder and CEO of Busy Mom Playdates. "My job is to create the room, bring in someone who can actually answer, and let women leave with better language for their own doctors."

The gap is not unique to this community. In August 2026, the Black Women's Health Imperative released findings from its Black Women's Menopause Study of 1,574 Black women. Among respondents, 54% said they did not have enough information to effectively manage their symptoms, and 41% said a healthcare provider had not discussed menopause symptoms with them.

Shades of Pink began in 2021 as a brunch that brought women back into community after the pandemic and honored women who had experienced breast cancer. Five years later the purpose has not changed. The conversation has.

The gathering is not designed to diagnose or treat. It falls exactly one week after World Menopause Day on October 18, whose 2026 theme from the International Menopause Society is "Chronic Pain at Midlife."

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Guests arrive in different shades of pink. The shade is self-selected, and no woman is asked to explain hers.

EVENT DETAILS

Nobody Told Us | Shades of Pink: Year Five
Sunday, October 25, 2026, 1:00 to 4:00 PM
137 National Plaza, National Harbor, MD 20745
Approximately 25 guests. Tickets $129.
Registration: https://events.busymomplaydates.com

Media interviews with Michelle Rose are available in advance. The participating medical professional will be announced before the event. Day-of media access may be arranged.

ABOUT BUSY MOM PLAYDATES

Busy Mom Playdates is a curated travel, lifestyle and experience community for busy women ready to make room for themselves. Founded by Michelle Rose in 2021, it has grown from local DMV gatherings into global travel and a community of more than 1,000 women. https://busymomplaydates.com