The menopause experience: a woman's perspective

To understand the complexities of the experience of menopause in American women from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. The specific aims of this phenomenologic study were to (a) examine and interpret the reality of the menopausal transition as experienced by American women and (b) identify common elements and themes that occur as a result of the complexities of this experience.

Data for this qualitative study were gathered through semistructured interviews with 15 women who experienced natural menopause.

A multiethnic sample of 15 menopausal American women in Massachusetts was selected from a pool of voluntary participants from the Boston area.

The interviews were analyzed to identify themes pertinent to the personal experience of menopause. Those themes, extracted from the similarities and differences described, represent broad aspects of these women's experiences.

Three major themes or phases were identified: expectations and realization, sorting things out, and a new life phase. Although some women expressed similar thoughts in particular categories, no two women had the same experience of menopause.

The data support the premise that the experience of menopause in American women is unique to each individual and that the meaning or perspective differs among women. The data revealed the complexities of this human experience by explicating personal meanings related to experiences, expectations, attitudes, and beliefs about menopause.