By Emmanuel Eleebeke & Olayinka Latona

If there is one word women detest most, it is menopause. The reason is not far fetched. Women often lack information about it, and are not prepared to face its challenges.

Little wonder most women shiver at the mention of menopause. Some are so uninformed that they see it as a disease and ask God not to lead them into it.

It was in realisation of this fact that this year’s edition of Allure Vanguard’s Women on Wellness (WOW) with the theme “Ace to Wellness: Be Healthy, Be Wealthy, Be Wise, focused on menopause and it’s effects.

• At the Allure Vanguard Women On Wellness Expose 2011 with the theme; “Ace to Wellness; Be Healthy, Be Wealthy, Be Wise”,. From left: Mrs Shade Thomas-Fahm, HRH Erelu Abiola Dosumu, Princess Sarah Adebisi Sosan, Former Deputy Governor of Lagos, Mrs Remmy Diagbare, Editor Allure Vanguard, Dame Abimbola Fashola, First Lady of Lagos State, Chief Abah Folawiyo, Princess Yewande Onile-ere, during the event, last Saturday at the Federal Palace Hotel ,Victoria Island Lagos. PHOTO: Kehinde Gbadamosi

In the view of a renowned fertility expert, Prof. Oladapo Ashiru, menopause is a reality every woman must go through.

Ashiru, a reproductive endocrinologist and joint pioneer of IVF in Nigeria, observed in his presentation entitled “Anatomy of Ageing”, that the greatest challenge Nigerian women face is that they are inadequately informed and usually unprepared to switch into menopause.

Ashiru, who is also Medical Director, Medical ART Centre, Maryland, Lagos, described menopause as the time in a woman’s life when her periods stop and she cannot have children anymore.

He explained that this happens because as a woman ages, her ovaries stop making enough of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone.

Some of the physical signs of menopause include feeling of hotness in an air-conditioned environment, hot flashes, incontinence and vaginal dryness among others.

Also speaking on the anatomy of ageing, Ashiru blamed factors such aslack of power supply, traffic congestion and fumes from power generators.

His words: “Majority of Nigerians find it difficult to sleep at night due to lack of electricity and when they cannot sleep the body will not restore itself, thereby causing degradation and this makes it impossible for the body to produce new cells.”

Continuing, Ashiru advised Nigerians to live a healthy life, eat healthily and exercise, as well as develop a culture of going for regular medical checks and to observe enough rest and relaxation.

In her remarks, Wife of Ondo State Governor, Mrs. Olufunke Mimiko, urged Nigerian women to desist from frivolous spending , rather, they should take cognisance of changes in their bodies.

Mimiko, noted that most often, women forget themselves in the process of caring for the entire family. As a result, she urged such women to take time to take care of themselves.

The First Lady, who utilised the occasion to charge mothers to educate their children on sex issues, affirmed that many mothers do not prepare their female child on the challenges of life especially in the area of sex, menopause and marriage.

In her welcome address, Editor, Allure Vanguard, Mrs. Remmy Diagbare, told the audience that the Women on Wellness Exposé 2011 was an annual event initiated as part of its contribution to the society in creating awareness on wellness, since majority of women and men only engage in fashion and deemphasise issues concerning their health.

Diagbare said menopause had been a vital issue for majority of Nigerian women who lack the right information hence, the need to draw their attention through awareness.