Menopause

The time in a woman's life when menstrual periods permanently stop; it is also called the "change of life." Menopause is the opposite of the menarche.

Menopause is defined as the time when there has been no menstrual periods for 12 consecutive months and no other biological or physiological cause can be identified. It is the end of fertility, the end of the childbearing years. (A woman may still, however, be able to become pregnant unless 12 consecutive months have passed without a period.)

A woman can usually tell if she is approaching menopause because her menstrual periods starts changing. The medical terms used to describe this time are "perimenopause" and the "menopause transition." Natural menopause occurs when the ovaries naturally begin decreasing their production of the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone.