A woman passes through childhood, adolescence and her fully developed reproductive years before reaching middle age. Each stage brings hormonal changes, and this one is no exception. After a certain age female hormones start to decline, the ovaries stop releasing eggs, periods stop and she can no longer conceive. This period of change is called menopause.

In medical terms, menopause means the permanent end of a woman's menstrual cycle. A woman is considered to have reached menopause when her periods have stopped for 12 months in a row. It happens when the ovaries completely stop releasing eggs, and as a result the female hormones oestrogen and progesterone decline. Menopause usually occurs between 45 and 55, with an average age of 50. It can happen before 40, in which case it is called premature menopause. Having periods every month after 55 is also not normal.

A woman is considered to have reached menopause when her periods have stopped for 12 months without any illness or medication. Before menopause, many women's periods can become irregular for various reasons: stopping for a while, coming late or too often, or being heavier or lighter. In such cases it must be checked whether there is some other specific cause.

The hormones oestrogen and progesterone, secreted by the ovaries, maintain the female body's beauty, regular periods and the ability to conceive, the glow and softness of the skin, normal sexual life and desire, hair thickness, protection against bone loss, the working of the heart, and mental and physical capacity. As these hormones decline after menopause, the body and mind begin to feel some effects.

Along with periods stopping for a year, some other symptoms appear:

• Hot flushes: sudden feelings of great heat, sweating and restlessness. They can happen many times a day and last from a few seconds to a few minutes.
• Night sweats: heavy sweating at night, even in air conditioning.
• Disturbed sleep: waking up or not sleeping properly.
• Emotional changes: emotional sensitivity, forgetfulness, restlessness, irritability, headaches, difficulty concentrating and depression.
• Skin changes: hair loss, thinning skin that loses its freshness, dryness, and melasma-type problems.

Source: Prothom Alo. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.