The booklet Menopause: One Woman's Story, Every Woman's Story, published in 2001, describes menopause—what happens in a woman's body leading up to and after her last period and what changes to expect after that transition. It includes a detailed discussion of using hormones after menopause as well as suggestions for staying healthy.

n the few years since this was written, results of important research on menopausal hormone therapy have become available. The large multi-center Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Hormone Trial was designed to look at the risks and benefits for healthy postmenopausal women of using menopausal hormone therapy. In July 2002, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute stopped the part of this trial involving estrogen plus progestin, and the scientists conducting this study published their findings. In April 2004, the results of the WHI Hormone Trial in women using estrogen alone were published. Menopause: Companion, 2003 and Understanding the Women's Health Initiative Study of Using Estrogen Alone, June 2004 explain these published findings of the WHI Hormone Trial.

For more information on menopause and the Women's Health Initiative, please visit www.nih.gov/PHTindex.htm.

Download Menopause: One Woman's Story, Every Woman's Story

PDF version, 971kb, 33pages.

Menopause, also known as “the change” or “change of life,” occurs at a time in the reproductive life of women when the production of estrogen (ES-tro-jen) and progesterone (pro-JES-te-rone), two hormones, changes dramatically. After menopause, women are no longer able to have children and may become more prone to certain diseases. Women have gone through menopause at around the age of 50 for hundreds, if not thousands of years. According to some experts, even the ancient Greeks described it as occurring around age 50.

Menopause: One Woman's Story, Every Woman's Story Official Download Webpage

Published by National Institute of Aging (NIH), U.S. National Institute of Health. 

NIA, one of the 27 Institutes and Centers of NIH, leads a broad scientific effort to understand the nature of aging and to extend the healthy, active years of life. In 1974, Congress granted authority to form NIA to provide leadership in aging research, training, health information dissemination, and other programs relevant to aging and older people. Subsequent amendments to this legislation designated the NIA as the primary Federal agency on Alzheimer’s disease research.

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