Menopause timing
A woman’s reproductive organs
Ovaries
The ovaries’ main functions are to develop egg follicles to a mature state enabling eggs to be released (ovulation) and to produce the hormones oestrogen and progesterone that support an egg after fertilisation, enabling a successful pregnancy to occur.
Variation with age
When menopause occurs before age 45 it is called Early Menopause and before age 40 is considered Premature Menopause. This may occur because the ovaries are no longer responding to the chemical messengers that dictate ovulation and the menstrual cycle.
Causes of artificial menopause include:
- Surgical: Menopause is brought forward if the ovaries are surgically removed.
- Medical: Cancer chemotherapy or radiotherapy may damage the ovaries resulting in early menopause. Fertility and menstrual periods may end immediately or several months later.
Women are born with all the eggs that they will ever produce and the menopause basically occurs when they "run out of eggs" – typically at around age 51. By a woman's mid-40s, the number of viable remaining egg cells is few and the ovaries – two almond-shaped organs that sit above the fallopian tubes of the womb (uterus) – are no longer able to release an egg each month (see diagram).
The age when most women reach their final menstrual period is in their early 50s. However, this is just an average and there is a great deal of variation.
When menopause occurs before age 45 it is called Early Menopause and before age 40 is considered Premature Menopause.
Sometimes, an 'artificial menopause' can be triggered if the ovaries are removed or damaged by other treatments.
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