Raising Children While Going Through Menopause

Raising Children While Going Through Menopause

On average women will go through menopause aged 50+ but for some of us, we can start this process early which is known as perimenopause. Perimenopause is the result of your ovaries shutting down and can take on average 4 years to happen.

Whether you are going through perimenopause or menopause it can have a huge effect on your body and the relationships with those around you.

Older mothers, in particular, can find it hard dealing with a younger child while all these changes are happening so in this post, we will look at some of the solutions to the problems your body is facing.

• Improve your diet

The first tip is to improve your diet. This tip can be used in a variety of situations but for women going through menopause, it’s especially important as menopause can affect your muscle and bone density. Bone density can decrease as much as 20% and this can lead you to be more prone to bone fractures.

Muscle loss can also make you more lethargic and feel weaker than before. When you have a toddler or younger child to look after this can be a problem.  

Having a good diet can help you with keeping your muscle and bone density as high as possible. Dairy is useful as it has properties that can help with keeping your bone density. Protein can help you with your muscle mass so be sure to include foods high in both into your diet.

• Improve your lifestyle

Menopause can leave women feeling anxious and depressed and a great way of relieving anxiety and depression is to use exercise to improve your mental health.

As a busy mom, you are going to struggle to fit exercise into your routine but if you have a family member or partner that can help let them know the problems you are going through and how you need some time to yourself to improve your physical and mental well-being.

Communicating your changes to friends and family may feel embarrassing at first but if you want to improve your relationships with these people it will help.  

Explaining to you teenagers how and why you have turned into the parent from hell will bring you back closer together. Younger children don’t need to know the details but if you can include them it’s a good way to show your mood isn’t because of something they may or may not have done.

• Track your symptoms

Hormones are difficult to manage and menopause makes them near impossible but by tracking your symptoms you can look for any patterns in behaviour. For example, having hot flashes at the same time of night or after an activity.

Tracking your symptoms can help you manage your situation too and also allow professionals to see any recurring patterns. There are many apps out there that can help you manage menopause which seems to be easier and less embarrassing they writing your symptoms down on paper.

• Seek professional help

Exercise and eating healthily may not be enough for some women and if you are feeling overwhelmed you should seek medical advice. Some women may need menopause treatment, for example hormone replacement therapy, to help with their loss of oestrogen. Your doctor can take you through the different types of hormone replacement therapy available to you and the risks that they can have on your body.

• Raising children through menopause

Mothers going through menopause while their teenage children are going through puberty is a problem no one would wish upon themselves and the same can be said if you have younger children with limitless energy.

Having a healthier lifestyle is going to allow you to have more patience with your children which will result in a better relationship with them. Raising children while fatigued and anxious is going to be difficult and it’s why you have to look after yourself physically and mentally before you can help your children first.  

When you are in a good place you are better equipped to raise your children and help them through many of life’s difficult challenges.

Guest Article. Contains sponsored links.