While every woman goes through menopause at some point in her life, the
symptoms and timing can differ — often significantly — from
woman to woman.
Midlife can be a wonderful time for women, but there also are challenges
in maintaining health as a woman’s body changes, according to Dr.
Victoria Leiphart, a gynecologist at Washington Township Medical Foundation
in Fremont.
Some women will experience only mild menopause symptoms. Dr. Leiphart says.
Other women may develop persistent hot flashes and night sweats that disrupt
sleep, rapid bone density loss that increases the risk of osteoporosis,
weight gain, mood swings — even depression — and other symptoms
that decrease quality of life.
Dr. Leiphart will discuss “Menopause: A Mind-Body Connection Approach”
at a Washington Hospital Health & Wellness seminar from 6 to 8 p.m.
on Thursday, February 11. The free program will be held in rooms A &
B of the Conrad E. Anderson, MD, Auditorium at Washington West, 2500 Mowry
Ave., Fremont.
At the seminar, Dr. Leiphart will discuss what works and what doesn’t
work in managing menopause symptoms including how to use stress management
techniques as well as nutrition and exercise, particularly yoga and meditation,
to cope with menopause symptoms. Most women seek natural, non-hormonal
ways to manage the symptoms of menopause, Dr. Leiphart adds.
Technically, menopause is defined as when a woman reaches one year past
her last menstrual period but symptoms often begin several years earlier.
Most women reach menopause in their early 50s, but others have their last
period in their 40s and others later in their 50s.
While menopause symptoms often vary from mother to daughter (they are not
genetically based), there are clear ethnic differences in the effects
of menopause, Dr. Leiphart explains. “Women of African heritage
often have the most severe hot flashes and women of Asian heritage the
least severe. Caucasian women fall somewhere in between, she says.
She urges women who are in the midst of menopause or anticipating moving
into that phase of their lives before too long to attend the seminar.
To register for the free seminar or for more information, please visit
www.whhs.com/events or call (800) 963-7070. The seminars may be televised
on InHealth, a Washington Hospital television channel (Comcast Channel
78) and online at www.inhealth.tv.