When Allison Noyce was 20 years old she stopped having her period on a regular basis and soon after she was diagnosed with early menopause, the disappearance of ovarian function, so she was told she could never be a mother.
But nevertheless, Fifteen years after being diagnosed with early menopause, and obviously without expecting it, she got pregnant naturally. She realized that she was expecting a baby when she was eight months pregnant and only 12 days after the incredible news, was the mother of a girlSophie
Eight months pregnant, 12 days to assimilate
It is hard to believe that a woman did not realize in eight months that a baby was growing inside her belly. But she was so convinced of her inability to be a mother that it never crossed her mind that the pain she had been feeling a while ago was caused by a pregnancy.
However, one day during a bike ride with her husband she felt a pain so strong that she knew something was wrong. He felt a lump in his stomach and supposed it was a cancer, so he immediately went to the doctor, who a priori thought of a great cyst, but when he did an ultrasound the news was even more shocking, but happy: I was eight months pregnant.
Of course, knowing that she had early menopause she and her husband never used contraceptive methods to prevent pregnancy. And against all odds, just 12 days later, her daughter was born. That is to say, After fifteen years believing that she would never be a mother, she had only 12 days to assimilate.
What is early menopause?
WHO considers early menopause the disappearance of ovarian function and the withdrawal of menstruation in women under 40 or 45 years.
The ovary is programmed to stop working over the years, but in a small part of the population, this natural process is advanced. What happens is that, ahead of time, the release of some proteins (among others, the so-called Pten protein) occurs that cause the ovarian follicles to not evolve and, therefore, do not reach sufficient maturity to produce ovules
Menopause is diagnosed when the woman has been 12 months in a row without having the period, so there is no risk of pregnancy since there is no ovulation. While in the period of perimenopause or premenopause there may be pregnancy even if the ovulations are intermittent, since although the ovarian reserve begins to decrease and irregularity in the menstrual cycle appears, the ovaries continue to produce eggs.
Premenopause, is the period of natural transition to menopause, which usually occurs between 40 and 48 years of age. The average duration of perimenopause is usually 4 years, but for some women it can be a few months while for others, as apparently it has been the case of Allison, of several years.
Is there a possibility of pregnancy with early menopause?
Apparently, it is not entirely strange that the woman becomes pregnant in the first months after the diagnosis of early menopause. According to a review by Anasti in 1998, the rate of spontaneous pregnancy in women diagnosed with early menopause may reach up to 45% at the first 6 months of being evaluated; however, after 40 years or if the patient has an estrogen deficit, this percentage decreases to 10-20%. Therefore, if a pregnancy is not desired, the most appropriate contraceptive measures must be taken according to each case.
We must distinguish between definitive ovarian failure or menopause and transient ovarian failure. A woman with transient ovarian failure can have ovulations and even spontaneous pregnancy again even in a 8-10% of cases.
There are assisted reproduction techniques that have achieved pregnancy through ovarian stimulation techniques, but the possibilities are very small. Success depends on the circumstances of each case (age, lifestyle, cause of menopause, etc.)
In cases in which the woman begins to show signs of ovarian failure, an ovule reserve is made to undergo, when they wish, a fertilization technique that allows her to be a mother.
Photos | iStockphoto and Daily Mail
Via Daily Mail
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