What is menopause?
The BMS (2026) have produced this simple article detailing what menopause is:
“Menopause is the time in a woman’s life when her periods stop as a result of the reduction and loss of ‘ovarian reproductive function’.
Ovaries produce the hormones estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. When a woman approaches the menopause, less estrogen is produced causing her body to behave differently. This process is usually a gradual one that progresses over several years. Estrogen also plays an important role in maintaining bone and heart health as well as brain function during the reproductive years.
The menopause usually occurs between 45 and 55 years of age but it may be earlier. There are ethnic differences in age of onset. The average age in the UK is 51. It is defined as when a woman has had no periods for one year or more.
Before then a woman will experience ‘early perimenopause’ and ‘late perimenopause’ and prior to that, the ‘late reproductive’ phase.
During early perimenopause, women experience a change in menstrual cycle pattern. They may start experiencing menopausal symptoms alongside cycle changes, most commonly by about 7 days from their norm.
Subsequently, in late perimenopause, many women experience worsening of their menopausal symptoms. Menstrual cycles become less frequent, with periods sometimes a few months apart, leading to amenorrhea.”
There is obviously so much more to the experience of menopause that EVERY woman will transition through, and although every woman will experience it differently, the outcome should result in a new lease of life, to make up for the peri menopause years that chewed us up and spat us out!
I will be blogging about all things menopause; my own experiences, clinically based evidence and also my take on the positives and negatives of this chapter in our lives.
Give me a follow for up to date information, or drop me an email at katiebaichoo@hotmail.co.uk for a more personalised approach.
