1. Menopause is a natural part of a woman’s life.
• It is a medical term which technically means cessation of the menstrual cycle.
• It came from the word ‘meno’ – menstruation and pause – stop.
• It is also known as the climacteric.

2. Average age of menopause onset ranges from 48 to 52.
• Menopause can occur as early as forty years of age, menopausal symptoms appear after surgical removal of uterus (hysterectomy) or either one of the ovaries (salphingo-oophorectomy). This is called surgical menopause
• Tobacco smokers tend to undergo menopause earlier.

3. Menopause symptoms are brought about by hormonal changes.
• It is an experience unique for every woman and quite a challenging period for the husband and significant others.
• Ovaries may produce less or scanty hormones. As a result of this hormonal imbalance, menopausal symptoms which in one way or another, have psychosocial impact on women’s lives.

4. Menopause can be managed through hormone replacement.
• Treatment is actually focused on the symptoms when it becomes difficult to manage despite the effort to calm it on your own.
• Hormone replacement therapy may help ease menopausal symptoms and at the same time reduces the chances of having debilitating diseases like osteoporosis.

5. Menopause is a gradual process of bodily changes.
• It has three parts of transition of physical and physiological changes which happen before and after menopause itself.
o Perimenopause is the period where a woman’s menstrual cycle becomes irregular in duration or amount of flow. Pregnancy is still possible so throwing all your contraceptive pills and condoms is not really a good idea. It is during this period where women the highest rate of unplanned pregnancies.
o Menopause where menstrual flow permanently stops and major symptoms such as hot flushes and sweating accompanied by reddening of the skin starts to occur.
o Post menopause is the stage where women have adapted well to menopausal symptoms but estrogen level remains low.

6. Menopause can alter mood.
• This stage of a woman’s life is sometimes called the period of rolling and swinging of emotions is perfectly normal.
• Experiencing severe premenstrual symptoms (PMS) during the younger years may have more mood swings on menopausal period.
• As a husband, it is them who will initially notice more frequent episodes of unstable moods of their wives.

7. Menopause causes decline in libido.
• Interests and feelings about sex tend to decrease.
• Women may notice that they are unable to get aroused easily even with the sensual touch of the partner.
• One of the associating factors might be the symptom having vaginal dryness that makes sex uncomfortable and less pleasurable.

8. Menopause can disturb the sleeping pattern.
• Sleep deprivation is one among the struggles of menopausal women.
• When a woman enters the perimenopausal stage, they will face the challenge of falling asleep.
• Developing strategies to improve sleeping pattern may help induce sleep such as engaging in a routine exercises and avoiding caffeinated drinks.

9. Menopause may pose an increased risk of osteoporosis.
• The hormone estrogen is losing during the period of menopause.
• Estrogen plays an important role in bone development and regulation in adult bone.
• Lack of estrogen may cause loss of bone density and weakens the bone making it more fragile, thus prone to breakage.

10. Menopause can lead to depression.
• The adjustment period varies among menopausal women. There might be brief moments of feeling sad and little blue that is common. A prolonged period of sadness might suggest a symptom of depression.
• Coping strategies helps women to adjust and endure this particular period of their lives, otherwise failure to overcome it may result to depression.
• In general, the accumulated effects of menopause have psychological impact on every woman’s life.