Menopause is a natural biological process, when your ovaries stop producing estrogen. It is diagnosed after not having your menstrual period for twelve months, normally in your late 40s or 50s.

Menopause can be natural or driven by surgical removal of ovaries for medical reasons. The natural menopause process is staged in three phases:

Perimenopause: It usually starts in a woman’s 40s and lasts until menopause. During perimenopause, many women may experience menopause symptoms, although they are still having menstrual cycles and can get pregnant

Menopause: It is the point when a woman no longer has menstrual periods for twelve consecutive months. This is the period when symptoms are mostly manifested

Postmenopause: The phase after a woman has not had her menstrual period for a year. Some women continue experiencing menopausal symptoms. More important in this stage is that, as a result of a lower level of estrogen, women are at increased risk for a number of health conditions, such as osteoporosis and heart disease