Navigating Female Fertility Age: Understanding Menopause & Its Impact

As women age, their bodies go through a number of changes, both physical and emotional. One of the most significant changes is the end of  female fertility age, which is known as menopause. Menopause is the stage when the ovaries stop producing eggs and the levels of estrogen and progesterone hormones decline. This can lead to a number of symptoms, including hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, mood swings, etc.¹ While menopause can be a challenging time, it is important to remember that it is a normal part of aging. And there are a number of things that women can do to manage the symptoms of menopause and improve their quality of life.

And in this blog we’ll be focusing on the changes a woman’s body goes through when she’s approaching menopause.

What Is Menopause?

As mentioned earlier, menopause is a natural biological process that occurs when a woman’s reproductive years come to an end. It occurs when a woman’s ovaries cease to produce eggs, stopping ovulation and menstrual periods, for the rest of her life. A woman in her 40s to 50s, is said to reach her menopause when she has gone 12 months without a period.² 

However, there are cases where women stop ovulating due to factors other than age. Such cases include premature menopause, which occurs when a woman’s ovaries fail to ovulate due to intrinsic or extrinsic reasons. Another example is surgical menopause, which occurs when a woman’s ovaries are removed as a cure or treatment for cancer.³ 

When the female fertility age is about to end in a woman, she may get a number of symptoms. In the upcoming sections, we’ve discussed physical as well hormonal changes perimenopausal women may go through.

1. Physical Changes

Before we get into understanding the physical changes that women may encounter during menopause, it is essential to acknowledge that the nature and severity of these changes can vary significantly from one person to another.  

Some of the common physical changes include:^4,5

• UTIs & vaginal dryness- The vaginal lining thins and becomes drier, which can cause discomfort or pain during sexual intercourse. In addition, women may experience urinary incontinence or an increased risk of urinary tract infections.
• Breasts- As a woman progresses in age, her breasts become less firm, and some women may even experience breast tenderness or pain.
• Skin & hair- On approaching menopause, the skin may become drier, thinner, and less elastic, resulting in wrinkles and age spots. Additionally, the hair may also become thin and drier.
• Decreased bone density- Women may experience a decrease in bone density, which can lead to osteoporosis (a condition in which the bones get porous and extremely weak⁶) and an increased risk of fractures. They may also notice a reduction in muscle mass and strength.
• Heart and blood vessels- Women may have higher cholesterol levels and a greater risk of heart disease and stroke.

In addition to above, hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and memory issues are some other symptoms of menopause. Nonetheless, one may note that the length and severity of aforementioned symptoms tend to vary from one woman to another.⁴

2. Hormonal Changes

As we all know, menopause has a significant effect on hormones, causing women to cease ovulation. So, let’s learn about some of these hormone changes that occur during this phase and explore them in detail:

• Decreased estrogen & progesterone levels- Estrogen and progesterone are primary female sex hormones which  regulate menstruation. When women reach their final female fertility age  at menopause, the secretion of these hormones also halts. This can influence other functions of the body as well including  how your body utilizes calcium and maintains cholesterol.^4,5
• Decreased AMH (Anti-Mullerian Hormone) levels- AMH is a hormone produced by ovarian follicles that is used to assess ovarian reserve (the number and quality of eggs remaining in a woman’s ovaries).⁶  During or while approaching menopause, the number of ovarian follicles and quantity of eggs in a woman’s ovaries decrease, resulting in a decrease in AMH levels.  Moreover, due to this, the AMH levels can be used to predict menopause.⁷
• Increased FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone)- FSH is a hormone produced by pituitary glands. Its primary purpose is to enlarge and mature the follicles to produce estrogen. However, over time, as ovulation stops, only a few or none of the follicles are left to be stimulated, causing estrogen to decline; while increasing FSH levels.

After reading about the changes that your body goes through during menopause, you may want to learn how you can prepare yourself for the journey ahead? Yes? Then let’s dive into without any further ado.

Predict Your Menopause With LifeCell’s Perimenopause Test Kit

What if we told you that you can easily predict menopause, and thereby prepare yourself to better manage its symptoms? With the help of LifeCell’s Perimenopause Test Kit! This easy-to-use at-home self-collection test is FDA-approved, that helps you in analyzing 3 significant female hormones: AMH, TSH and fT4! Now, analyzing these hormones may help women in discovering whether they’re nearing menopause or are experiencing symptoms of an underlying thyroid problem (which is very common amongst women).  

To test your hormones with our kit, all you need to do is order it online, collect your sample, schedule a return and rest will be taken care of by our team of experts!

Parting Thoughts!

Though some women experience menopause in their 40s or 50s, few of them may experience the end of their female fertility age early on. This could be due to a variety of factors, such as underlying thyroid conditions or other reproductive health problems. However, thanks to LifeCell’s Perimenopause Test Kit, women can now finally discover the true cause of their symptoms.

We hope that by reading this blog, you have learned that as your female fertility age increases, your hormones may start to cause problems. However, if you want to learn about your possible FMP (final menstruation period), which can be found out with the help of our simple test, you can face menopause  and its related symptoms with much confidence!

So ladies, are you ready to say goodbye to menopause worries and live your 40s like your 30s? Take charge of your health, get your LifeCell Perimenopause Test Kit today!

To know more about the Perimenopause Test kit, click here or simply call us at 1800 266 5533!