What is menopause?
Menopause is the ceasing of menstruation. The term perimenopause refers to the years leading up to a woman's last menstrual cycle, when a woman experiences a set of symptoms that go along with the changes in her reproductive system. The ovaries stop producing estrogen and progesterone, the two main hormones present in females, and the menopausal woman can no longer become pregnant. Women undergoing perimenopause, however, still have the ability to become pregnant; they still menstruate, though it may be irregular, and the potential for conception exists until menstruation stops completely. A woman has undergone menopause when her menstrual cycle fails to show for one year.