Maryam Niyyati - ph.d student
Mansour Yahyavi

The purpose of this study was to document, from a developmental perspective midlife woman s perceptions of their Menopause within the larger cultural context, and to use ethnographic research as a tool for researching midlife women. The central question guiding the analysis of midlife women s lives was: what are midlife women s perceptions of their changing bodies The self- reported experiences of 20 midlife women (45-55) were obtained and the data analyzed using spradly s (1979) developmental research sequence method. Data were collected by using individual interviews. Four general themes emerged from the analysis of the data. The first two themes- the media and medicine-involved aspects of the culture that most influenced the women s interpretations of their changing bodies and were, therefore, structural in nature. The second two themes loss and redefining of self (including the development of self-care involved the more personal aspects of the women s narratives such as reflected meanings and attitudes. Results of the study indicated that the midlife period in a women s life encompasses a broad spectrum of experience, full of contradiction and changes.

Midlife Woman, Menopause, Changing Body