Stages
of Menopause: Menopause Is One Stage of a Woman’s Reproductive
Life
The woman’s
body is truly a miracle. As a woman, you are able to hold a new
human life inside of you and nurture that life as it grows, enters
the world, and matures from infancy to adulthood. To accomplish
this wonderful task, the female body has the most complex reproductive
system on the planet. Throughout her life, a woman’s amazing
reproductive system goes through at least four stages. Some people
refer to these stages as the “stages of menopause.”
The stages of menopause can be defined in the following transition
which occurs between a woman’s youth and old age:
Before
menopause: This stage refers to the early years of a woman’s
life beginning with her first normal menstrual period and ending
with her last normal menstrual period. For a woman with a healthy
reproductive system, the time before menopause is defined as a stage
of normal female reproductive function.
Peri menopause:
Literally, peri menopause or perimenopause means “around menopause.”
This is seen as the second stage in the stages of menopause. During
peri menopause, a woman will go through hormone fluctuations which
may cause typical menopause symptoms like menopause hot flashes.
For women with a healthy reproductive system, peri
menopause can occur from 35 to 50 years of age. When peri menopause
begins, it could last from two to eight years before the woman reaches
true menopause.
Menopause:
In the stages of menopause, “menopause” represents the
end of a woman’s reproductive cycle. Once menopause occurs,
a woman’s ovaries will stop releasing eggs and hormone levels
of estrogen and progesterone will decrease to permanently low levels.
Some of the signs of menopause may include menopause
hot flashes and menopause weight gain. Often called “the
change” or “the change of life,” menopause technically
means that a woman has not had a menstrual period for 12 months
in a row. Menopause usually happens between the ages of 45 and 55
years old.
Postmenopause:
Postmenopause is the final chapter of the stages of menopause. Postmenopause
begins after 12 months have passed since a woman’s final menstrual
period. The stage of postmenopause encompasses all the years in
a woman’s life after menopause has occurred, meaning a woman
will be considered postmenopausal for the rest of her life.
While each woman’s
reproductive system is extraordinary, a woman is not defined by
her reproductive system. There are many reasons why a woman’s
reproductive system may not follow the typical stages of menopause,
but these variations do not make her any less of a woman. Premature
menopause may occur because of genetic tendencies, autoimmune
diseases, surgery to remove the ovaries, and cancer treatments like
chemotherapy or radiation. If a woman experiences the signs of menopause
before the age of 35, she should investigate whether she is experiencing
premature menopause or perhaps has other health issues needing attention.
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