Unexpected discovery of menopause

It is possible that menopause is something that creators give to women so that they do not disadvantage their daughters-in-law and grandchildren.

>>> Doanimals have menopause like humans?

Most animals reproduce until they die. Humans are the only species to stop reproducing in the mid-life stage due to menopause. Today the role of menopause for human evolution is still a controversial issue in the scientific world.

Dr. Andy Russell, a researcher at the University of Exeter in the UK, and colleagues analyzed the birth and death rates in Finland from 1700 to 1900. They found that if their mother-in-law and daughters-in-law kept their children together. In a certain period of time, the risk of death before the age of 15 of the children in that family will double compared to other children, Telegraph reported.

Since primitive times, women are willing to compete with
daughter-in-law, but tends to yield to her daughter.

But that situation does not happen if that person's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law share a baby.

Russell thinks that the way to divide food in families where both mother-in-law and daughter-in-law feed their babies is twice as likely to cause children to face the risk of premature death compared to the average of the society. If living conditions are difficult, older women and young children are willing to fight with their daughters-in-law to meet their children's food and material needs, despite the bad consequences that grandchildren can bear. .

'Menopause is a phenomenon that evolutionary processes create in order to prevent older women from competing with their daughters-in-law. Since most women do not give birth after menopause, they will focus their time and effort on taking care of their grandchildren and other family members , 'Russell explained.

According to Russell, in terms of evolution, women from the prime time tend to yield food and material to their daughter, but will compete with women who are not related by blood, including daughter-in-law.

Russell's discovery can help scientists explain the phenomenon of women stopping reproduction at mid-life. It also fits into a hypothesis whereby women stop giving birth to middle-aged children to help their children nurture their grandchildren.

'The study of the University of Exeter shows that it is very likely that menopause occurs in women because they play an important role in raising children in traditional societies,' said Dr. Virpi Lummaa, an expert. said the University of Sheffield in England.

Lummaa said that although the role of the family has changed drastically, many women still take care of their grandchildren. Even in Western society, a part of women still helps their children to look after them during the day.

'It is interesting that very few women today give birth at the same time as their daughters-in-law or daughters even though they have not yet reached menopause,' commented Lummaa.