Stages of Menopause

There are three stages of menopause: perimenopause, natural menopause and post menopause. There are certain characteristics to look for in these phases or stages that help us to identify them. Understanding our menopause symptoms and the characteristics of the menopausal cycle can help us determine where we are, in our cycle.

Perimenopause includes early perimenopause, induced menopause and temporary menopause. Perimemopause can be defined as the time in a woman's life that leads up to menopause. Every woman's experience with menopause is different and so are her menopause symptoms. All of this being decided by her changing estrogen levels.

Menopause is somewhat determined when a woman has gone a whole year without a period. That seems easy except that if there is any spotting or bleeding, a woman needs to start counting all over, again. The most important thing to remember is to make sure to keep using birth control, because there can be a pregnancy during menopause transition.

Post menopause follows menopause and continues the rest of your life. For many women, it is considered a very liberating time in their lives. It is a time where the focus can be on themselves and creates an opening to discovering what they want out of life and who they are.