What is Premature Ovarian Failure?

Premature Ovarian Failure (POF) is when the ovaries stop working. For most women, this process happen naturally in their early 50’s and is referred to as menopause, so Premature Ovarian Failure is essentially a type of early onset menopause. The average age of women experiencing this is 27. It results in a loss of estrogen production and a rise in follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). The only way to be correctly diagnosed with this condition is to be without a period for 4 months and have two follicle-stimulating hormone test done one month apart that show elevated levels and you must also be under the age of 40. Read more »