MENOPAUSE

Menopause is the transition of the female body from its fertile (childbearing) to its no longer fertile state. This usually occurs around the age of 45 to 50, although there is great individual variance between women with some starting menopause as early as in their thirties and others not until their late fifties. Menopause is a gradual process in which female hormonal levels slowly decline over a span of time, resulting in less frequent periods as the ovaries stop regular ovulation. Medically, menopause is defined as the cessation of menstruation for an entire year (12 consecutive months). While menopause itself describes a point in time, the years before menopause - when hormone levels slowly drop and the menstrual cycle becomes more irregular - are described at peri-menopause, and the years after menopause (until end of life) are defined as post-menopause.