Premature Menopause

by Singer, Dani; Hunter, Myra

• ISBN13: 9781861561527
• ISBN10: 1861561520
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-02-08
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Uncertainty and negative expectations are common responses to the menopause. When it happens too early (sometimes as young as 16) it can be particularly distressing with concerns about physical health, as well as possible social and emotional consequences. Young women are faced with a condition, the causes of which are not well understood, and about which very little is written in medical or lay literature.In medical texts premature menopause is typically mentioned only in passing, and from the woman's perspective it remains a hidden secret. This can only compound the difficulty for women for whom the life process has suddenly swept into fast forward. Premature menopause can have profound implications both for the woman herself and her partner and family. She is faced with physical and emotional concerns that are usually not considered until much later in life, such as: will she age prematurely? will she need to take long-term medication? will she come to terms with loss of fertility? are there alternative treatments? are there consequences for her future health?

Author Biography

Dani Singer is the author of Premature Menopause, published by Wiley. Myra Sally Hunter is Professor of Clinical Health Psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College, London, and a Clinical and Health Psychologist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Table of Contents

Contributors	vii
Foreword	xiii
Preface	xvii
Introduction	xix
Part 1 BIOLOGICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL DILEMMAS	1	(54)
The dilemmas	3	(20)
Dani Singer
Myra Hunter
Etiology, diagnosis and prognosis	23	(14)
Gerard S Conway
Mid-life menopause: psychological and social meanings	37	(18)
Myra Hunter
Part 2 THE EXPERIENCE	55	(58)
A qualitative study of women's experiences	57	(22)
Dani Singer
Behind the shut door: a psychoanalytic perspective	79	(17)
Joan Raphael-Leff
Difference and diversity	96	(17)
Agnes Marfo
Part 3 TREATMENT APPROACHES	113	(138)
Management of premature menopause in general practice	115	(22)
Jean Coope
Medical approaches to premature menopause in a gynaecological clinic	137	(23)
Joan Pitkin
Carolyn Allan
Fertility treatments and choices	160	(20)
Hossam I Abdalla
Andrew KS Kan
Complementary medicine and non-medical approaches	180	(22)
Janet Brockie
Self-help and support groups	202	(30)
Lih-Mei Liao
Zelda Abramson
Catherine Corp
Guidelines for good practice: a biopsychosocial approach	232	(19)
Myra Hunter
Dani Singer
References	251	(24)
Resources	275	(12)
Index	287