Menopause

This natural phase—which broadly encompasses perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause—means a woman has stopped ovulating and can no longer get pregnant. The clinical definition requires a woman to go a whole year without bleeding or spotting to know she has hit menopause.

Menopause, a natural biological process, occurs in three stages: perimenopause (hormone fluctuations), menopause (end of menstrual cycles), and postmenopause (12 months without menstruation). Hormonal shifts during this time can affect neurotransmitters, increasing the risk of mood disorders.

People tend to pay close attention to how menopause impacts a woman’s body, noting that it can increase her risk of certain diseases and conditions when she’s postmenopausal. But what about her brain? Lisa Mosconi, a neuroscientist studying the impact of menopause on the brain, explains in this TedTalk how menopause directly impacts a woman’s brain health. Watch it here.

Medical menopause is when menopause is induced from either surgery or medicine. Chemotherapy and radiation, as well as oophorectomy (a surgical procedure that removes the ovaries) and a radical hysterectomy can cause a woman to become menopausal. Women that go through medical menopause experience the same symptoms as women that experience natural menopause. Learn more about the medical condition here.

Although it's rare, some women may experience menopause early. Early menopause describes women that are menopausal between the ages of 40 and 45. Women that go through menopause before age 40 experience premature menopause. Early experiences of menopause impact under 6% of women, and doctors can’t point to a specific reason why it happens. Learn about what we do know about the conditions here.

Menopause is the second natural time in a woman’s life when her body goes through a whole transition. Unlike puberty, it isn’t talked about as much. In this podcast episode by Houston Methodist, the host speaks with a gynecologist with a specialization in menopausal medicine about what menopause really is, and how women and the people in their lives can navigate this next life stage. Listen here.

Late-onset menopause is when a woman starts going through perimenopause after the age of 55. While there are some benefits to this—like the lowered risk of osteoporosis—late menopause does bring about an increased risk for certain types of cancers, like breast, ovarian, and uterine. Certain factors, like obesity or thyroid disease, can lead to delayed menopause. Learn more about late-onset menopause here.

Menopause has long been a topic left out of film and tv. But some shows, like “The Change,” and celebrities, like Jennie Garth, are now openly talking about it. This article breaks down how Hollywood is starting to come around to the menopause conversation and how celebrities are talking about their own personal experiences, as well as advocating on Capitol Hill. Read it here.

Perimenopause (also referred to as the menopausal transition) is the time period when a woman’s body begins prepping for menopause. During this stage, the ovaries production of the reproductive hormones progesterone and estrogen decline. Plus, she’ll likely experience a slew of mental and physical symptoms. Typically women enter this stage in their mid-40s and stay in it for four years, but this varies from person to person. Learn more here.

Women going through perimenopause may experience some common physical and mental symptoms at varying degrees. Some symptoms include hot flashes, bladder control issues, brain fog, and vaginal dryness. This article dives into some of the most common symptoms women might expect during perimenopause, plus what they can do to relieve them. Read it here.