This New York Times Opinion piece by Dr. Jennifer Gunter should be read by all people with ovaries and those that love them, live with them and/or are partnered with them.
While we don’t think that all of us feel our, ” worth is tied to her ovarian function and that the end of her reproductive life represents the end of her productive life”, too many do. As we usually do, we will highlight themes and quotes and provide a link to the full article for those that want to read it all.
Knowledge and education is missing
But many women are unaware of the basic biology of menopause and don’t know what to expect when they are no longer expecting a regular period.
The medical community should provide women with far more information about how their hormones change in middle life, what they should expect and what can be addressed with medical treatment.
So profound is the knowledge gap that many women aren’t sure of the markers of menopause. Are they in it or done with it? This confusion can be traced back to the misdirected emphasis on the last menstrual period as well as the confusing terminology: The menopause transition, the time leading up to the final menstrual period, is often called premenopause; perimenopause describes the menopause transition plus the first year without a period.
We completely agree with the terminology being a contributing factor to confusion. Here are useful definitions that may help.
Testing hormone levels, a tantalizing idea, BUT…
But the truth is that no single blood, saliva or urine test can accurately determine whether or not a woman is close to her final menstrual period. The hormonal chaos of the menopause transition is so great that one month hormone levels could suggest menopause, and two months later they could be normal.
It’s time for change
Women deserve to experience these changes in their bodies equipped with facts and free of fear, shame or secrecy.
For too long, women have had to fight to learn the facts about menopause, to take up arms for their health and their sanity. Speaking up about the concerns of a female body as it ages should be considered normal, not brave.
