One of the advantages of menopause is not having monthly bleeds. If they return, perhaps your ovaries are not as exhausted as you thought. PHOTO: Pexels.
1 in 10 women records postmenopausal ovarian function
It’s been more than 12 months, or even years, since you last had a period. But you still have something akin to premenstrual syndrome or a light period. It’s your ovaries that don’t want to retire completely.
By Cristina Martín Frutos
13 SEPTEMBER 2026 / 08:00
When was your last period? This is the question most women hear when they tell their doctor that they suspect they are entering menopause. Of course, it isn’t a matter of curiosity. There are statistical reasons that explain it. Since the universal medical consensus states that you must have gone 12 consecutive months without menstruating to consider that you have entered this new stage.
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However, and although, as we said, worldwide this is understood this way, it is merely another medical standard. This implies, as corroborated by Dr. Victoria Prada, a specialist in integrative gynecology at Palasiet Wellness Clinic, “that from a strictly biological point of view, it is not an infallible limit in 100% of cases.” In fact, up to 10% of women deviate from that ‘norm’. It may seem anecdotal, but if in Spain there are now around eight million women already at this stage, it is likely that about 800,000 are living that sort of incomplete menopause that is not always easy to understand.
No period… or so it seemed
The path toward the end of menstruation is unique to each woman. Some spend years dealing with irregularities: two periods in one month; others four months without appearing; minimal bleeding or, on the contrary, very abundant… A transition — now we finally know as perimenopause — that can last for several years. All until those 12 consecutive months without menstruating. “That is when it is generally considered that the woman no longer has ovarian function or estrogen production,” explains Dr. Mª Dolores Ruiz León, a gynecologist at HM Hospitals.
However, she adds, “between 5 and 10% of them may bleed again after that time boundary.” That means that about 1 in 10 women may have complications due to ovaries that refuse to retire. Ovulations may then appear sporadically or even late and transient estrogen spikes. An incomplete menopause that, according to Dr. Prada, “is more common in those who entered this phase at earlier ages.”
Attention to the symptoms
While these surges of ovarian activity usually do not involve problems, it is important to note that they may hide other causes. “Genitourinary syndrome; polyps in the endometrium and/or vagina; endometrial hypertrophy…” enumerates Dr. Ruiz León. That is why it is essential to attend to the symptoms and, especially, to their intensity and recurrence. It can be normal, a sign of an ovulatory rebound, that there is some swelling, some discomfort, bleeding… or something else.
It may even happen that they are not associated with bleeding. “Some patients describe it as a sensation of a period, and we would say it is a kind of sensory memory of the body,” she notes. In any case, it is important to consult the gynecologist to differentiate between that possible incomplete menopause and any other problem. “Usually, between what they report in consultation, the medical history, the examination and the gynecological ultrasound, it is enough to determine the origin.”
If doubts arise, a hormonal study is usually added (as is done before or during pregnancy) and, if warranted, an endometrial biopsy.
A novel approach: the protective function
Recently, a new scientific perspective is being considered that centers on the idea that after menopause the ovary does not stay inactive, but its function changes. “It continues to secrete androgens (mainly testosterone and androstenedione) due to stimulation by pituitary hormones (LH). This activity remains in nearly 100% of women physiologically during the first years of the postmenopause,” highlights the gynecologist from Palasiet Wellness Clinic.
But that is not all. In recent months, science has been delving deeper into this approach. In fact, several studies have proposed that after menopause, the ovaries could continue to participate in important bodily processes. Of course not with reproductive functions. One of the most promising studies —so far only tested in mouse models— was conducted by researchers at Northwestern University (Chicago, USA) and identified an increase in cells related to the immune system in aging ovaries.
It was also observed that, once the fertile period ended, these organs ceased to be dominated by reproductive mechanisms in order to increase those associated with immune functions.
The possibilities of the ovary that won’t retire
This new research pathway opens a very interesting field of opportunities for women who have already entered menopause. For example, to better understand their health and develop medical strategies supported by that new ovarian function. These are avenues of work that are still in their early stages, but they are already being studied in human models, which is essential for their final validity.
It is also encouraging that science, after centuries of absolute neglect (in 1977 it was classified as a disease and only from 1996 was it studied as the physiological process it is), is finally turning its attention to the ovaries.
