How does the end of monthly bleeding menopause affect my body and soul

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One of the main signs of growing older is that a woman’s monthly bleeding ends. It may end suddenly, or it may stop gradually over 1 to 2 years. For most women this change happens between the age of 45 and 55.

Signs:

• Your monthly bleeding changes. It may just stop, or you may bleed more often for a while. Or you may stop bleeding for a few months and then bleed again.
• At times you may suddenly feel very hot or sweaty (this is also called having ‘hot flashes’). This can wake you up at night.
• Your vagina becomes smaller and less wet.
• Your feelings change easily.

These signs happen because a woman’s ovaries stop making eggs, and her body makes less of the hormones estrogen and progesterone. The signs will start to go away as her body gets used to less estrogen.

How a woman feels about the end of her monthly bleeding sometimes depends on how she is affected by the changes in her body. It also depends on how her community thinks about and treats older women. She may be relieved not to have her monthly bleeding every month. But she may also feel sad that she cannot have any more children.

Sources

• Burns, A. A., Niemann, S., Lovich, R., Maxwell, J., & Shapiro, K. (2014). Where women have no doctor: A health guide for women. Hesperian Foundation.
• Audiopedia ID: en010902