BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study is to compare suicide ideation among women in the pre-, peri-, and post-menopause using a cross-sectional household survey of non-institutionalised adults from six European countries. METHODS: In total, 8794 out of 21,425 respondents provided data for the following study. To use men as a comparison group, we defined three different groups of male subjects, based on the mean age of the women groups. RESULTS: We found an increased risk of suicide ideation among women in their peri-menopause compared with women in their pre- or post-menopause and men. This finding was independent of mood and anxiety disorders. LIMITATIONS: Some categories showed few individuals. The cross-sectional design of our study does not allow us to conclude causal relationship between variables. CONCLUSION: The occurrence of suicide ideation varies across the reproductive life cycle of women.