Q: I am from India but living in another country. I am 45 years old and my wife is 40 years old. I have 5 children and my wife is not having menses from the last 5 years. We went to a doctor who was unable to find the problem so I am upset about it. Her belly looks like she is pregnant. Please suggest what to do?

A:Your worry is about your wife’s menstrual cycle having stopped. There could be several reasons for this but the most common one could be that she has an early onset of menopause .The usual age for this is after 45 years but it is known to happen in the earlier part of the 40s also and is just nature taking its course. If this is the case then there is nothing to worry about but just to be careful and she should be examined by a gynaecologist and have an ultrasound of the abdomen to rule out an ovarian cyst and other problems. This should be done as soon as possible.