By Asma’u Ahmad
A Gynaecologist and Fertility Specialist, Alpha Assisted Reproductive Klinic, Dr. Jumoke Ogunro, said an average Nigerian woman is ignorant of basic symptoms associated with menopause.
Dr. Ogunro, who stated this in an interview with newsmen in Lagos, said that lack of awareness about menopause was the major reason many women did not visit gynaecologists to consult on menopausal symptoms.
She described menopaouse as any of the changes a woman goes through, either just before or after she stops menstruating, marking the end of her reproductive period.
“In Nigeria, we need to first educate women about menopause. The average woman knows that one day, she will stop menstruating but most are not aware of symptoms associated with this normal process that every woman will have to cope with,” she said.
The Gynaecologist said that in Nigeria, the menopausal woman is left to cope all by herself; adding that women must receive the right
information about menopause, and how to cope with it.
According to Dr. Ogunro, menopause is a normal process and not a disease, saying the symptoms experienced are as a result of a fall in
the levels of the female hormones including the oestrogen and progesterone.
The gynaecologist said that ideally, hormones replacement therapy (HRT) was used to replace the hormones that were lost during
menopause.
She said, however, that the use of HRT was associated with an increased risk of stroke, breast and endometrial cancer.
Ogunro said that the average age of menopause was 51 years, but that menopause could occur in women between 45 to 55 years.
“In Nigeria, the age range has been between 46-48 years from studies reviewed, but it can occur early or later in some women; when it
occurs before a woman is 40-years-old, it is called premature ovarian failure,” she said.
