Postmenopause is referred to as all the years after a woman has achieved menopause – 12 months after her last period. The woman’s ovaries have stopped working and she is infertile.
 
A woman's hormone levels of oestrogen and progesterone continue to drop and fluctuate for some time into postmenopause, so any symptoms that a woman may be experiencing do not necessarily stop right away, but may take quite some time to disappear completely.
 
Other effects that are due to low oestrogen levels remain present even after the menopause transition years are over. The skin tends to lose protein (collagen). This makes the skin drier, thinner and more likely to itch. There may be less underarm and pubic hair. Some women have an increase in facial hair.
 
Lack of oestrogen tends to cause the tissues in and around the vagina to become thinner and drier which may make sexual intercourse painful. The urinary tract also becomes thinner and the urethra shorter. Because of this women can develop urinary tract infections more easily. Also some women experience stress incontinence when a small amount of urine escapes from the bladder when they put pressure on it – laughing and coughing, for example.
 
Health Risks in Postmenopause
 
However there are also long-term changes and problems occurring in post-menopausal women due to the decrease in oestrogen levels. The major two risks are that of osteoporosis and heart disease.

• Bone: Oestrogen helps to maintain healthy bones by helping to maintain the proper balance between bone build-up and breakdown. Therefore, given the decrease in oestrogen together with the almost non-existent progesterone which also contributes greatly to bone health, bone density decreases, sometimes leading to osteoporosis.
• Cardiovascular: Oestrogen controls cholesterol production in ways that limit the build-up of plaque in the coronary arteries After the menopause, levels of lipids, particularly low-density lipoproteins (LDL – the bad) cholesterol, increase in women. Levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL – the good) cholesterol decrease. This means that fatty deposits are more likely to build up in the arteries, thereby reducing the blood flow to the heart.

What is the menopause?
 
Perimenopause