Online supermarket Ocado has launched a menopause aisle with more than 300 products, billed as the UK’s largest, to help menopausal women find support and clearer symptom guidance.

The aisle, developed with menopause organisation GenM, brings together MTick-certified products across supplements, skincare, sexual health and personal care.

Shoppers can access guidance that matches products to symptoms such as hot flushes or sleep disruption.

New research commissioned by Ocado found shoppers struggle to navigate menopause products and symptoms.

The study reported that 47 per cent of women can identify only five or fewer of the 48 recognised menopause signs, while 71 per cent say relevant products are not clearly labelled or easy to find.

Additionally, 81 per cent said they would feel more confident buying menopause support if supermarkets provided better advice and signposting.

Hannah Gibson, chief executive of Ocado Retail, said: “Many women don’t know which products might help, or where to find them.”

The new aisle aims to create a space where support, products and practical advice come together.

GenM co-founder Heather Jackson said the partnership would make menopause-friendly products “easier to find, understand and trust.”

She added that better visibility would help shoppers navigating menopause.

The launch also reflects rising demand for broader support, with supplements the most wanted category, as 73 per cent of women want better access to vitamins, probiotics and hormone-support products.

Foods designed for menopause health (54 per cent) and menopause-specific skincare and beauty (53 per cent) were also priorities.

Researchers compared genome sequences of laboratory mice conceived naturally with those conceived through assisted reproductive technologies, including hormone treatments, in vitro fertilisation and embryo transfer.

Fertility-treated pups had about 30 per cent more single-nucleotide variants, tiny one-letter DNA changes.

The Jackson Laboratory team found these mutations were spread across the genome rather than clustered in specific genes.

Single-nucleotide variants can occur when cells replicate their genetic material.

Beth Dumont, a geneticist who led the study, said: “What we are seeing is a true biological signal, but we cannot make an apples-to-apples comparison relative to what happens in a clinic.

“Still, the fact that we see this trend in mice does argue for additional research investigating this possibility in humans.”

The mutations observed appear unlikely to cause harm. Scientists estimate fewer than 2 per cent of new mutations arising in a genome are deleterious or affect an individual’s characteristics or disease susceptibility.

“Even though we see an increase in mutation rate, most of these mutations are peppered across the genome, and they are neutral mutations that have no impact overall on the organism’s phenotype.” said Dumont.

Because it is not a large rise in mutation rate, the risk that any one new mutation would be deleterious is very small, almost negligible.

For roughly every 50 mice conceived with assisted reproduction, researchers expect one additional harmful DNA change compared with natural conception.

This is one problematic change among the mouse genome’s 2.7 billion DNA letters.

The effect is comparable to what would be expected if the male parent’s age increased by about 30 weeks, since paternal age significantly influences mutation rates in mammals.

The biological mechanisms remain unclear. Possible factors include hormone treatments that stimulate ovaries to restart meiosis, a cell-division stage prone to errors.

Physical handling of embryos or laboratory culture conditions might also contribute.

“Nothing in our study directly speaks to the potential of mutations in human IVF, but there have been associations in the literature suggesting some steps in IVF might induce genetic changes. That is clearly worth studying to ensure patients are maximally informed.” said Dumont.