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Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English, I'm Sam and I'm Georgina.

Something that affects almost every woman at some point in her life is the menopause.

The menopause is a natural part of aging, that happens as a woman's hormones decline,

and she stops having monthly periods and being able to get pregnant naturally.

With the menopause comes physical signs, these vary from person to person and often include

hot flushes, mood swings and night sweats. But besides these, there may be other changes too,

and living through it can be isolating both personally and professionally.

In many societies, the menopause is still taboo, not talked about in public for social or religious

reasons, or because people are uncomfortable discussing it. But recently high-profile women,

like former First Lady Michelle Obama, have started speaking up. In this programme,

we'll be hearing from two other women trying to make the menopause more visible in society.

And of course, we'll be learning some related vocabulary as well,

but first let me ask you my quiz question Georgina. As we mentioned, the menopause is part of

the natural aging process and usually occurs between the ages of 45 and 55. But what is the

average age for a woman to reach the menopause in Britain? Is it A, 49, B, 51 or C, 53?

I'll jump in the middle and say 51 years old.

Okay Georgina, we'll find out the answer later in the programme.

Since the menopause is a normal and natural part of life, it's surprising how little it's

talked about. Dr Niggat Arif is a British Pakistani family doctor specialising in women's health.

According to her, the silence around the subject is because menopause is about getting old,

something no one wants to be reminded of.

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