ABOUT SISTAH PAUSE
You Deserve More Than “Everything Looks Fine.”
Midlife can change how you sleep, think, feel, move, and recognize yourself. When those changes are dismissed or treated one symptom at a time, it can leave you wondering whether anyone is seeing the whole picture.
At Sistah Pause™, that whole picture matters.
When You Know Something Is Different
Maybe your labs are “normal.” Maybe each symptom has been treated separately. Maybe you’ve learned to function through poor sleep, fatigue, changing periods, brain fog, weight changes, or mood shifts.
But functioning is not the same as feeling well. Midlife deserves thoughtful clinical attention because multiple systems can be changing at once.
Meet Mariama
Mariama-Seray Barrie, FNP-BC, MSCP
I understand this season of life from both sides of the exam room.
My own experience with hormonal changes, chronic symptoms, and complex health concerns taught me how frustrating it can be to know something has changed in your body without fully understanding why.
That experience didn’t replace my clinical training. It changed how I use it.
It made me more attentive to the symptoms that may seem unrelated, the details women are often tempted to dismiss, and the importance of looking beyond a single lab value or diagnosis when someone tells me she no longer feels like herself.
My experience caring for women with complex and overlapping health concerns gave me a broader understanding of how easily symptoms can be separated into different boxes — even when the woman experiencing them knows they are connected.
That perspective led me to pursue advanced menopause training and become a Menopause Society Certified Practitioner, bringing a more integrated approach to the care of women navigating perimenopause, menopause, hormonal and metabolic changes, PMOS, thyroid concerns, and other complex midlife needs.
Sistah Pause™ grew from the intersection of clinical experience, advanced midlife expertise, and lived understanding — with a clear purpose: to help women understand what is changing, identify what deserves attention, and receive thoughtful, individualized care through this stage of life.
Care That Makes Room for Your Whole Story
Black women do not experience healthcare — or midlife — in a vacuum.
Culture, family responsibilities, work, stress, food, faith, relationships, and previous healthcare experiences can all shape how symptoms are experienced and how care fits into everyday life.
You should not have to leave those parts of yourself outside the exam room.
At Sistah Pause™, care is clinically grounded while making room for the context, culture, questions, and realities of the woman receiving it.
our approach
What You Can Expect Here
We listen before we decide.
Your symptoms and priorities matter.
We look at the whole clinical picture.
History, symptoms, labs, risks, treatments, and goals are considered together.
We prioritize what matters most.
You don’t leave with a long list of disconnected problems.
We measure progress.
Care is monitored and adjusted based on how you respond.
We think beyond the first improvement.
Your health strategy should evolve with you through midlife.
FROM OUR patients
Real Stories, Real Results
Why Trust Sistah Pause
Fair Question.
Here's the Honest Answer.
The MSCP credential is one of the most rigorous in hormonal medicine. Perimenopause and menopause care for Black women is not a service I added to a general practice — it is the only thing Sistah Pause does.
Because I specialize in exactly this.
I run comprehensive labs and read them the way they need to be read for a Black woman in perimenopause — not what's "normal" on a reference chart, but what's optimal for your body, your age, your biology.
Because I don't guess.
Black women enter perimenopause earlier, experience it more severely, and receive less clinical attention for it. I've seen this firsthand for 15 years — and in my own experience. I built this practice to fill that gap.
Because I understand what you've been carrying.
You're not getting a prescription and a "good luck." Your plan adjusts as your body changes, through every phase of this transition.
Because I stay with you.
Understanding Comes First.
You don’t need to arrive knowing whether your symptoms are hormonal, metabolic, thyroid-related, nutritional, or something else. That is what the assessment is for.
Pause, Sis™ Discovery is where we begin connecting the pieces and determining what deserves attention next.
free guide
Download “A Guide for Black Women: Perimenopause, Menopause, & Post-Menopause”
It’s time to reclaim your health and thrive through every stage of menopause. This free guide is designed for Black women, offering practical tools, expert insights, and the encouragement you need to feel empowered and supported on your journey.