In 1987, the World Health Organization, or WHO, took action to improve the quality of maternal health around the world through the declaration of the Safe Motherhood Initiative, or the SMI, at an international conference concerning maternal mortality in Nairobi, Kenya. Initially, the SMI aimed to reduce the prevalence of maternal mortality around the world, as over 500,000 women died during pregnancy and childbirth annually at the time of its inception, while about 98 percent of those deaths occurred in low-income countries. While WHO led the initiative, many organizations in various countries participated in additional programs in order to implement the goals of the SMI. WHO developed the SMI in order to reduce the prevalence of maternal death, developing one of the first proposals that brought attention to maternal health on a global basis at a time when global maternal mortality was high.

Menopause is the point in time twelve months after a female has had their last menstrual period (National Institute on Aging, 2022). It typically affects human females between the ages of forty-five to fifty-five years. According to the National Institute on Aging, every year in the US, one million women experience menopause (National Institute on Aging, 2022). Physicians may refer to menopause in three stages: perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause. Perimenopause is the transition into menopause, while menopause is the point when a female has not had their menstrual period for twelve months. Physicians consider a female to be in postmenopause if they are past the twelve months of not having a menstrual period. During perimenopause, many women often experience symptoms such as changes in mood, vaginal dryness, and hot flashes. Primarily, those symptoms result from a decline or drop in estrogen, which helps drive the menstrual cycle. Every woman’s experience with menopause is different due to differences and frequency of menopausal symptoms. Often women do not have reliable information about what is going on in their bodies or what to expect during the stages of menopause. This thesis project aims to provide peer-reviewed and accurate sources on menopause, its history, and its treatment methods.