The Menopouse

During the time of motherhood, a woman is responsible not only for maintaining her own health but also for maximizing the health of her family. Roughly one-third of all children in this country (19 million) live apart from their fathers, which means that society still relies on mothers to protect and nurture their children.
The term menopause is used to describe an event or a period of time in a woman's life. In some contexts, it is used to designate a period of a number of years, typically the time when a woman is in her 40's through the decade of her 50's and beyond. Strictly speaking, menopause is the date of a woman's last menstruation and is associated with the cessation of ovulation. A woman is said to have experienced menopause when she has had 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period. On the average, menopause occurs around 51 years of age. The menopausal process, however, actually begins in the early 40's or earlier. Diminishing sex hormone levels can be measured in a woman in her mid-30's.



"Menopausal" women represent a major component of the population. There are 30 million menopausal women in North America and 21 million baby boomers will reach menopause in the first 10 years of the new millennium.

Menopause has often been referred to as "the change of life" because it is a time in a woman's life when menstruation stops and she can no longer bear children. Symptoms of menopause may include: