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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