A consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, Ademola Ayodele, has identified menopause as “universal” among women, saying every woman will eventually go through it at one time or another.

Mr Ayodele, also the medical director of a Lagos-based private medical facility, said Tuesday in Lagos that women should see menopause as a way of coming of age rather than feeling dejected or deprived.

He defined menopause as the absence of menstrual periods for 12 months, which occurs when a woman stops producing the hormones that cause menstrual periods for 12 months in a row.

The consultant said it is the time in a woman’s life when her periods (menstruation) stop, saying it is a natural, normal body change, accompanied by mood and emotional symptoms, irregular periods, sore breasts, dry vagina, among others.

He said that the ages at which menopause occurs vary with individuals, but the earliest age considered normal is 40.

According to him, the actual age that most women enter menopause is 45 years, but in Nigeria and most parts of Africa, the majority of women enter menopause between the ages of 49 and 51.

He said, “Menopause is universal among women – meaning that every woman will eventually go through it at one time or the other. So, if we look at it that way, we will stop looking at it as a disease. The psychological attitude of the individual matters, and that is why some people call it the golden-age experience.

“So, even if a woman is having menopause before the age of 50, she should see it as a way of coming of age rather than feeling dejected or deprived.”

Mr Ayodele also mentioned that some factors could make menopause set in earlier than the normal time, identifying smoking and drug use as major risk factors for early menopause.

He explained that “for women who smoke, their menopause comes earlier than average and some hormonal drug use also can affect menopause.”

Mr Ayodele also said that women experience menopausal symptoms at different levels, as some people’s symptoms could either be mild or moderate, while others experience severe symptoms.

According to him, some different medical preparations and modulations can help those whose symptoms are severe. He identified healthy lifestyles like maintaining a healthy weight, exercising, reducing sugar, and eating a healthy diet as some of the approaches to coping with menopause effectively.

He noted that “every symptom of menopause can be effectively managed, whether it is a heat wave, dryness of the private part or reduction in the size of the breast, among others.

“There are drugs that people can use to minimise the symptoms and feel better. In fact, because of the universality of menopause, there are alternative remedies that people have discovered that help. But medically, the drugs are straightforward. They are either drugs that work directly on the body or hormonal,’’ he said.

Mr Ayodele, therefore, advised women who feel disturbed to see a gynaecologist, and the appropriate drug would be prescribed. He, however, said most of the menopausal symptoms are self-limiting, saying that they last for a few months to years and disappear afterwards.

According to him, except for those who want to have babies, there shouldn’t be any reason for an individual to try to withhold/prevent menopause from setting in.

“Most symptoms are pre-menopausal signs that occur at the onset of menopause, which last for few months to years and disappear with time, leaving the woman to feel normal again. That’s why old people would have forgotten how they felt during their menopausal stage.

“If a woman is desirous of having babies, then she should get a gynaecologist to manage that stage because menopause naturally signifies the end of reproductive age. However, with the help of In Vitro fertilisation and other types of assisted reproductive technology (ART), post-menopausal women can be made to get pregnant,” Mr Ayodele added.

(NAN)