As the awareness of gender inequality in health becomes more apparent, it is important that we improve our understanding of the effect that menopause has on our bodies and stop reducing an important stage in a woman's life to a series of hot flushes and 'mood swings'. This is especially the case with the perimenopause, the phase that precedes the menopause which can start to affect women in their mid-thirties. Until now, many of us have never heard of the perimenopause, but it may hold the key to our understanding of the menopause. With new analysis on hormones and medical treatments like HRT, this book provides women - and men - with a scientific toolkit for how we can better prepare for it.