Menopause is a natural phase of every woman's life. With menopause, menstruation
and fertility come to a permanent end. Some other facts about menopause and its effects are as under:-
- Generally, the average age when the women reach their menopause is 50.
- However, any woman can still stay healthy, energetic and sexually active even after reaching menopause.
- Before one reaches menopause, there is a phase of irregular menstrual cycles for a few years, called perimenopausal stage and can last 1-5 years.
- Even though periods are irregular, pregnancy is still possible in this phase.
- The commonest cause is the naturally declining hormones. This is because the ovaries stop their function and this results in anovulation - a process of not forming any more eggs.
- Very few women (hardly 1%) experience premature menopause before the age of 40, generally due to some autoimmune disease or genetic factors.
- After any woman reaches menopause, they become more prone to certain medical conditions like cardiovascular diseases and hypertension. One may even experience sudden, strong and frequent urge to urinate, also one could involuntarily pass urine, especially while laughing, coughing or lifting heavy weights.
- Women sometimes could experience difficult sexual function during sexual intercourse. This could happen due to decreased moisture production, which causes vaginal dryness and leads to loss of elasticity that might cause slight bleeding and discomfort. There could be decreased desire for sexual activity during this phase.
- Due to slow metabolism, quite a lot of women put on a lot of weight during and after the menopausal transition.
- It is advisable for the women to go for timely check- ups and take the precautionary measures to sail smoothly through this phase of life.
- Symptoms of Menopause: (i) Irregular Periods (ii) Vaginal Dryness (iii) Inability to control the urine (iv) Hot Flashes (v) Night Sweats (vi) Difficulty in falling asleep (vii) Mood changes (viii) Weight gain (ix) Slowed metabolism (x) Thinning of hair and dry skin & (xi) Loss of breast fullness.