What is the menopause?
Every woman experiences the menopause differently, with different impressions and feelings. Menopause is the ending of the monthly cycle and fertility. The menopause has happened when the woman has had her last period. This does not happen suddenly. It usually starts with the periods getting irregular. This means you can only tell with hindsight when it has definitely happened. It is not until a woman has not had a period for 12 months that she can know for sure the menopause is over. On average, women experience the menopause sometime around 51 years of age, although it is often a few years earlier or later. The menopause happens because the ovaries stop releasing eggs. The ovaries also produce hormones, so a change in the ovaries affects the balance of hormones in the body. This can cause a variety of symptoms, and it can take the body a while to adjust to the changing hormones.
