The term menopause is sometimes used mistakenly to describe the transition that occurs when a woman’s reproductive time ends.

Menopause refers only to the completed state. It is something a woman reaches, not something that she goes through. Menopause is only one of several stages during the reproductive life of a woman.

Premenopause is the stage immediately prior to menopause when physical changes begin to accelerate and women are most likely to experience perceptible physical changes due to drops in hormone production.

A woman is considered to be in menopause when she has gone through 12 months without menstruation. Post menopause obviously refers to life after the final menstrual cycle.