What is menopause?

Menopause refers to a natural stop in a woman’s menstrual period and fertility. Menopause happens because the woman's ovary stops producing the hormones estrogen and progesterone.

All women go through menopause, usually between the ages of 40 and 55. A woman has reached menopause when she has gone 12 months without having a period.

What are the signs and symptoms of menopause?

Although menopause itself is the time of a woman's last period, symptoms can begin several years before that (in a stage called peri-menopause).

Menopause and peri-menopause affect every woman differently. There are some common symptoms, including:

• Changes in periods (they may be shorter or longer, heavier or lighter, or have more or less time in between)
• Hot flashes
• Night sweats
• Trouble sleeping through the night
• Vaginal dryness
• Mood changes
• Hair loss or thinning on the head, more hair growth on the face

Another health problem that can start during menopause is estrogen loss. This can lead to osteoporosis, a condition where bones become weak and break easily.

Also, women are at greater risk for heart disease after they go through menopause.

What are the treatments for menopause?

In the past, some women would take hormones to replace the estrogen and progesterone their bodies were losing during menopause. Taking these hormones, known as hormone replacement therapy (HRT), might help with menopause symptoms and with bone loss.

But new research shows that, for some women, taking hormones has risks, including greater risk of heart disease, stroke, blood clots, and breast cancer. Therefore, for post-menopausal women, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration advises that HRT be used for the shortest time and at the lowest doses possible.