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Menopause is a fact of life that affects every woman around the world. However, the physical and mental impact of this physiologic inevitability varies both within and across all cultures. There is no universal menopause experience. But, for all women, menopause can mark the beginning of an exciting new time of life.
Most postmenopausal women look back on menopause as the beginning of many positive changes in their lives and, hopefully, their health. Yet in today’s youth-obsessed society, a woman’s perception of menopause can be influenced by many negative stereotypes—in the media, from friends, family, peers, and even healthcare professionals. Education and counseling can help dispel these myths and challenge outdated views.
In fact, a NAMS survey found that U.S. midlife women are divided in their opinions of menopause. Some consider it a medical condition requiring treatment, while others view it as a natural transition that should be managed by natural means. Another survey found that women want more information about menopause, but that their major source of information is consumer magazines, not their healthcare providers. This survey also found that women have serious misunderstandings about their health risks after menopause.
Diversity in women, including social and cultural differences, can also affect a woman’s experience of menopause and her view of menopause treatments, as well as her overall health and well-being. Risk factors, patterns of disease and mortality, access to health care, economic status, existing medical therapies, and societal norms related to femininity and aging all differ across groups of women. There is very little research, however, on how these differences affect the experience of menopause. To date, menopause research has mostly focused on middle-class white women. Although different populations are now being studied, considerable information is needed before many aspects of menopause are better understood.
As women experience the physical, emotional, and social changes of approaching menopause, each woman faces a unique opportunity to identify her own strategies for midlife wellness. In fact, reaching menopause, whether natural or induced, is an ideal time to begin or reinforce a health promotion program that will provide benefits throughout the rest of a woman’s life.
Each woman is the expert on her own body—and she benefits most if she’s well informed. The primary message for a woman at this stage of life is that she can enjoy her body well into old age, provided she makes informed, responsible choices. The Mission of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) is to help in this process. Research continues—information keeps changing. The NAMS Web site (www.menopause.org) can be counted on as a reliable source of current information. |