MENOPAUSAL EXPERIENCES OF THAI WOMEN .2. THE CULTURAL-CONTEXT

This paper describes the cultural context of middle-aged Thai women wh o took part in a survey of symptoms and attitudes to menopause. The wo men lived in Nonthaburi province, adjacent to Bangkok, which has under gone a transition from rural to urban. Household structure often inclu des three generations. There have been changing opportunities for wome n in areas of education, occupation and family size and women's power increases with age. Thai women perceive menstruation as an indicator o f health and take special care during menstruation. There is a special idiom in Thai 'leod cha pal - lom cha ma' (the blood will go - the wi nd will come) used to describe changes in a woman's behaviour, emotion s and well-being during the menopause. These changes are expected to h appen occasionally, not in every woman. Some women looked forward to m enopause, while others were found to be ambivalent towards it. Copyrig ht (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.