What is Perimenopause and How Will Affect Pregnancy?
Age does not have to prevent healthy pregnancy
Have you ever heard of perimenopause? If only the last word “menopause” seems familiar to you, you are far from alone. Twenty years ago, menopause was the only one on the female clock.
One day you began menopause and that was it. Now with the growing number of women postponing first time pregnancies until later in life, medical science has generated a new name to indicate a step between healthy menstruation cycle and complete end of menstruation or menopause. This in-between step is perimonopause.
But What Is Perimenopause?
It is grand to have a nifty new name to stick between fertility and infertility, but what does it really mean? The bottom line is that the female reproductive cycle does not end the same way it begins. When the first period begins it usually does so with fairly little preamble. It can begin all on one day, as if the ovaries and uterus simply woke up that morning and decided it was high time they got to work.
Menopause does not happen in the same sudden manner. Instead, it is a slow process of change until the uterus and ovaries decide they no longer have what it takes to complete the menstrual cycle and menstruation stops once and for all. Menopause itself comes with a complete set of symptoms and changes from moodiness and hot flashes to no monthly bleeding and drops in hormone levels.
The simplest definition of perimonopause is the changes in a woman’s body, which occur in preparation for menopause. It can be very different for each woman, so the symptoms of processes listed here might sound completely foreign or like a biography depending on your individual experience.
Perimenopause can last anywhere from 1-3 years before the actual onset of menopause. This being said, it is not unusual, however, for women to experience symptoms for as long as 10 years.
Signs and Symptoms of the Beginning of Menopause
Some of the symptoms of perimenopause mimic those of menopause, and this is not surprising. The body is reacting to changing hormone levels and the common symptoms are generally less severe during perimenopause. Think of them as training.
Hot flashes are common, but night sweats are usually reserved for menopause. Moodiness can be a factor, but it still follows the menstruation cycle and is therefore less random than the general all day moodiness of menopausal woman.
With dropping hormone levels, the female reproductive system does not lubricate itself as well. Dryness can be an issue. A drop in sex drive, while not significant can be of concern to some women.
The most commonly concerning symptom of perimenopause is its impact on fertility. It is the significance of this symptom that probably drove medical science to give it name in the first place. Other symptoms pale in their severity when a woman weighs their total impact.
Women in general are waiting longer to start families. They run straight into perimenopause and its attending irregular menstruation cycles and erratic ovulation. Perimenopause is not the end, and it can be reversed. Learn how to combat perimenopause by clicking here.
