Why mums are calling menopausal 'lady-gardens' the 'greatest secret of womanhood'

The news came as a shock to many women

There are side-effects and symptoms of the menopause most of us are aware of.

These include - but are not limited to - hot flushes, night sweats, lack of energy and loss of interest in sex.

So far, just another cruel and inconvenient blow dealt by Mother Nature to women the world over.

But thanks to an eye-opening and educating discussion, on Mumsnet , women are suddenly, well, not exactly excited, but certainly fascinated by a specific menopausal side-effect.

It concerns body hair which, for many a female, is something we're conditioned to wage war on throughout our lives with painful, costly waxes. and stinky, stinging depilatory creams.

With age though, comes hair loss.

User QueenieMum kicked off a lively chat with other mums following "an animated conversation with some friends earlier this week."

"Apparently lady gardens can lose their lawn completely after the menopause. I've never heard this before, is it true?! I also can't decide whether I'd love it or hate it!"

Many mums came forward and confirmed that this did indeed happen, decribing it as the "last great secret of womanhood."

"At the risk of over-sharing, mine is not as fulsome as it once was," commented one. "But I sort of presumed it had been getting a bit disheartened as I sometime wax/Immac/shave bits off."

Wax pot

Can women look forward to being able to ditch the wax?

There was, of course much jubilation from many of the women, who described this hair loss side-effect as "a plus."

Even members of the medical community weighed in.

One nurse replied with: "As a nurse I can safely share that I've probably seen every lady garden type out there and would say about 75 per cent of ladies seems to have nothing left in their elder years, although some do still have full lady gardens but grey."

Going grey seems like an inevitability

This was substantiated by a retired nurse, who added: "I've seen more older women's lady gardens than I have had hot dinners.

"Yes, they do tend to get much more sparse with age. There are exceptions to every rule but in general this is true."

Even Whoopi Goldberg had something to say on the matter during her recent appearance on Graham Norton, daring to admit what so few women talk about.

While this hair-loss news received largely a positive reception, many of the other comments pointed out how, what Mother Nature took away with one hand, she gave back (double) with the other.

"My fingers sprout more hair than my eyebrows," revealed one mum.

"Post-meno, my lady garden appears to be - not disappearing - but re-emerging on my chin," added another.

And this: "I found a hair under my chin a few weeks who that was SO long it must have been there at least a few months.