Women's Experience of Menopause

Background and Women’s perception of menopause depend on cultural norms, social factors and individual knowledge of meanopause. Because of amny problems women face in this stage, the present study was designed to explore and interpret Iranian women’s experience of menopause. Methods and Materials: Fourteen menopause women, spending time for hobby in public parks, were interviewed for their clinical experience after having signed the informed consent for inclusion in the study. Open in-depth semi-structure interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were analyzed by Van Manen phenomenological method, and the study ended after data were saturated. The most important clinical experience of women from menopause, which emerged from the study data, were the physiologic event and deprivation themes. Also, subthemes included natural process of creation, facing alertness, healing power of menses, youth and femininity, and a light perspective into the future, which helped describe and expand the main themes. Despite different attitudes toward menopause, women consider this phenomenon as natural; however, concerns and expectation of its complications can affect the quality of their life.