For someone in their thirties, it would be unexpected, so for teenager Abi Lane, it was a shocking moment when doctors confirmed she had gone into premature menopause.
She'd never started her period, and then the classic symptoms of hot flushes and mood swings kicked in, at just 15 years old.
"When I was diagnosed, I really struggled with finding out I was infertile at such a young age," said Abi.
"Obviously at 15 I wasn't planning on having children very soon, but I'd always wanted them. I was one of those children that was quite maternal, so I think I was quite depressed at the time knowing I wouldn't be able to.
"It made me feel like less of a woman, even though that's ridiculous, and I actually went through a phase of wearing extensions and stuff to feel more feminine."
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Learning she was infertile at such a young age left Abi, from Nottingham, struggling, but she has now come to terms with it.
But the 30-year-old speech therapist still suffers from all the usual menopause symptoms, including hot flushes and mood swings.
She was diagnosed when she was just 15 years old, but her symptoms began earlier than that.
Abi said: "When I was a teenager, obviously I saw all my friends starting their periods, and mine never came.
"I went to the doctors about it, and they told me some people don't start until they're 16 or 17, so I should just wait.
"It sounds a bit cheesy but I think when something is wrong with your body, you just know, so I went back and asked them to do some tests.
"It turned out I had started menopause."
Her mood swings were initially dismissed as part of growing up - but tests unearthed the real issue.
She said: "My poor parents. They must have thought they had a real problem child. I was quite shy at school, but at home I would go from really happy to angry to sad all the time.
"I would have these outbursts at them, it was absolutely terrible."
Doctor never gave Abi a specific reason she had started menopause that early, as she had no family history of premature menopause.
She said: "My mum and my sister started their periods normally, which is partly why I thought something was wrong when mine didn't come.
"Because I never started my period, the doctors did some more tests and found that I only had one ovary and that one wasn't producing oestrogen.
"From there I was placed on a few different contraceptive pills and then eventually on HRT, which I still take."
Most women go through the menopause - which is defined as not having a period for at least a year - in their 50s, a high number do experience it earlier.
It occurs when the ovaries stop releasing eggs each month. Because the follicle - the sac in the ovary where the immature egg develops — also produces oestrogen, levels of this hormone drop too.
According to the NHS, as many as 130,000 British women go through premature menopause every year
And a further 13,000 experience it before they are 30, and around 1,300 before the age of 20.
"Premature menopause is a devastating diagnosis for youngsters"' Dr Heather Currie, a gynaecologist in Dumfries & Galloway, told the Daily Mail.
"The drop in oestrogen levels means the womb lining no longer thickens and sheds, and hence periods stop"
"In youngsters, it would be unusual for there not to be an underlying cause, whether a medical condition that affects the functioning of the ovaries, an underlying genetic chromosome disorder or cancer treatment.
"However, for a small minority, there is no obvious cause, which can make it harder to deal with."
You can find support for premature menopause at the Daisy Network (a specific resource for women experiencing premature menopause).
