During the past 35 years health professionals have witnessed a marked increase in the amount of menopause information. Gynecologist Wolf Utian, M.D. deserves much of the credit for that menopause information increase. Dr. Utian founded the North American Menopause Society (NAMS).

That society now holds annual meetings. At each of those meetings thousands of health professionals discuss various issues, all of which relate in some way to menopause health. The men and women at those annual NAMS meetings hear talks by scientists who are doing menopause-related research.

A number of talks address issues that relate to menopause diet. Diet can affect a woman’s chances for developing a typical health problem—heart disease. Many menopausal women develop heart problems. The correct menopause diet can help to prevent those problems.

Some of the information at any NAMS meeting touches on hormone levels during menopause. After a woman experiences menopause, the estrogen level in her blood drops. That lowers the level of the woman’s high density lipoproteins. It raises the level of her low density lipoproteins. Those changes put the woman at risk for getting blood clots or clogged arteries.

Following menopause, a woman who fails to take in enough calcium and Vitamin D puts her bones at great risk. She could well develop osteoporosis. Women with small bones, women who smoke and women who have other family members with bone problems can benefit from speaking with their physician at the first signs of menopause.

Some women undergo great emotional stress during menopause. They feel overwhelmed by the association of menopause and pregnancy. When a woman has a lower estrogen level, she can no longer become pregnant. An awareness of that fact can sometimes encourage regret, and that can lead to problems with menopause and depression.

Associations such as NAMS have members who hold great interest in helping women to overcome the possible occurrence of a dual “hardship,” menopause and depression. They examine ways by which a woman can avoid having regrets about the changes in her body. They encourage menopausal women to try doing new things.

A depressed menopausal woman often looses interest in trying to appear attractive. Members of NAMS are part of a growing group that reaches out to such women. They offer such women more ways to highlight those parts of her body that continue to be beautiful. They help her to feel ready to stir the sexual longings of a husband or sex partner.

The period after menopause is a time when a woman has a greater chance for developing breast cancer. A woman who must deal with that disease faces special problems. Health professionals generally work closely with such a woman, so that she continues to feel attractive. She might have special concerns about her ability to satisfy a husband or sex partner.

Thanks to organizations such as NAMS many members of society now know and care about the various issues that can impact the life of any woman. Those organizations offer a hand to ever larger numbers of women after they had passed through menopause.