过早绝经：女性的生物身体体验与生活身体之间的多重失调。

Premature menopause: multiple disruptions between the woman's biological body experience and her lived body.

作者信息

Boughton Maureen A

机构信息

Faculty of Nursing, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

出版信息

J Adv Nurs. 2002 Mar;37(5):423-30. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2648.2002.02114.x.

DOI:10.1046/j.1365-2648.2002.02114.x

PMID:11843980

Abstract

AIM OF THE STUDY

The aim of this phenomenological study was to find out what menopause was like as an experience for women who were not yet 40 years old.

BACKGROUND

Women's bodies have naturally occurring rhythms and expected transitions related to their menstrual cycle. One transition that all women will experience, provided they live long enough, is menopause. Menopause involves hormonal changes that result, on average (for Australian women), in the cessation of menstruation around 51 years of age. When women experience menopause prior to the age of 40 years it is defined (medically) as premature. While there is abundant literature on menopause as a biological event, the experience of premature menopause has been paid little attention and dismissed as a 'mystery'. This study intended to uncover some of the so-called 'mystery' of the experience from the perspective of the women.

RESEARCH METHODS

Hermeneutic phenomenology and feminist philosophy informed this study involving 35 women, all of whom volunteered to participate. They responded to newspaper articles, a radio announcement and through a midlife and menopause support centre. Thirty women engaged in separate face-to-face conversational style interviews. The remaining five women participated in a collaborative interview after some themes were identified through preliminary analysis of the transcripts of the one-on-one interviews. With the consent of participants, all interviews were audio-taped and later transcribed.

FINDINGS

This study revealed that the experience of menopause came as a shock for the women--it was perceived as a major epiphany in their lives and they were confronted with a multitude of issues related to the timing of the event and their embodied understanding of menopause. The experience of menopause resulted in multiple disruptions in the women's lives. The women discussed many aspects of their lives that now seemed to be 'out of synchrony'.

摘要

研究目的

这项现象学研究的目的是了解对于尚未年满40岁的女性而言，更年期是一种怎样的经历。

背景

女性身体具有与月经周期相关的自然节律和预期转变。所有女性，只要活得足够久，都会经历的一个转变就是更年期。更年期涉及激素变化，平均而言（对于澳大利亚女性），会导致在51岁左右月经停止。当女性在40岁之前经历更年期时，医学上定义为过早绝经。虽然有大量关于更年期作为一种生理事件的文献，但过早绝经的经历却很少受到关注，并被视为一个“谜团”。本研究旨在从女性的角度揭示这种经历中一些所谓的“谜团”。