Thoughts on Menopause

Not all female animals go through menopause. Female humans are the only land mammal who experience menopause and then live decades later. There are four other mammals who go through menopause but live underwater. Some mammals do not go through menopause but in their elder years do not mate/reproduce.

At first, I thought perhaps early female humans did not live long, say until around 40, so maybe they did not experience menopause. Lifespan has generally increased over time. However, the Bible has references to child-bearing and barren women, so we know early women did go through menopause.

Why do you think God gave menopause to female humans, at a relatively early age, and not other mammals? Female humans still have some decades left in their lives. There is the "grandmother theory" which doesn't make much logical sense to me. Basically, this theory purports that when older females get involved with raising grandchildren, the young mother (her daughter/daughter-in-law) is able to have more children as she has help to raise them. This is supposed to increase overall reproduction. What makes more sense to me, if we are really concerned about reproduction, is that BOTH women are able to give birth until older age and have their older children care for them or if they set up some sort of "child care" environment.

Other thoughts on menopause are welcome.

Considering that Jeremiah 17:8 says, "they shall be as trees planted along a riverbank...", this might be a case where we are more comparable to plants than to animals. And after reading this article discussing how to prevent trees from fruiting, I think this idea has credence seeing that it speaks to hormonal changes and cautions against overstressing an already stressed tree. So, my hypothesis is that it is somehow related to a concern of overstressing us. Notice CharliRenee's initial reaction to the thought after all, and as a fairly new nana, I can't say I can blame her.

I think that when we simply accept all of God including how He created us with no stress about it, we make the very best of our lives.

Dr. Reade, an obstruction, taught this about childbirth. I used what Dr. said and found I could birth a child with absolutely no pain. It was simply a matter of trusting the muscles we cannot control like our heart muscle. Birth muscles are automatic, if we try to control them it only causes pain.

Umm are you suggesting that the pain we experience in childbirth is merely our attempting to control our birth muscles?

Not all female animals go through menopause. Female humans are the only land mammal who experience menopause and then live decades later. There are four other mammals who go through menopause but live underwater. Some mammals do not go through menopause but in their elder years do not mate/reproduce.

At first, I thought perhaps early female humans did not live long, say until around 40, so maybe they did not experience menopause. Lifespan has generally increased over time. However, the Bible has references to child-bearing and barren women, so we know early women did go through menopause.

Why do you think God gave menopause to female humans, at a relatively early age, and not other mammals? Female humans still have some decades left in their lives. There is the "grandmother theory" which doesn't make much logical sense to me. Basically, this theory purports that when older females get involved with raising grandchildren, the young mother (her daughter/daughter-in-law) is able to have more children as she has help to raise them. This is supposed to increase overall reproduction. What makes more sense to me, if we are really concerned about reproduction, is that BOTH women are able to give birth until older age and have their older children care for them or if they set up some sort of "child care" environment.

Other thoughts on menopause are welcome.

Oh my gosh, the thought of having a child as a grandmother, at an older age, sounds exhausting to me, lol.

Specualatively speaking, I think menopause for humans goes along with women having to go through painful childbirth. It is a part of Eve's sin, falling from grace. I have no idea why God would choose to have us go through the change when we do (maybe because humans live much longer), but I trust He knows what He is doing. I think the over population issues this earth faces suggests it might be a wise thing that we are unable to procreate after a certain age.

uh

I think personally it allows women to have a rest (from childbearing)

I am not sure about all the biblical reasons but I do know that Leviticus has stated that men werent allowed to touch a woman while she was having her monthly period, that she was unclean etc.

I mean they did not have tampons or the convenient sanitary products that we have today. Even 50 years ago, you basically had to wear a belt or just say you needed to stay home.