Menopause: A complex and controversial journey

Abstract

Menopause is defined as permanent cessation of menstrual periods, determined retrospectively after a woman has experienced 12 months of amenorrhea without any other obvious cause. Over the years, the discourse surrounding the Climacteric was mainly elicited as a “disease of the castrates”, as opposed to the feminist views. There has been a large feminist contribution to both the debate of contraception and menopause in the last few years. Over the years, menopause has been treated in a uniform fashion, as a disease, excluding the different circumstances and lived experiences that patients go through during this sensitive period. Every primary care provider should be familiar with the menopausal process and be able to provide adequate care for these women, respecting patient's autonomy and decision making. A brief historical of menopause and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) will be reviewed in this paper. We will also discuss the different views of the menopausal discourse as well as the benefits and risks, compliance rates and reasons for discontinuation of HRT.