Posted on 11/01/2005 6:14:07 PM PST by blam
Bearing sons 'can shorten mother's life'
By Roger Highfield, Science Editor
(Filed: 02/11/2005)
Giving birth to and raising several sons could be bad for the long-term health of mothers but good for fathers, according to a study published today.
Scientists suspect that having large families shortens a parent's lifespan, because the effects of reproduction and childcare can take their toll on health. However, in a society without good health care, sons could be especially costly for the mother for several reasons.
They are, on average, born heavier and place more physical stresses on the body. They also raise levels of testosterone in their mothers' bodies, which can age the immune system, making it less able to defend the body.
Sons need more care after birth.
Daughters prolong mothers' lives by helping them in tasks such as obtaining food and rearing their younger siblings, at least in the traditional society studied, so daughters might aid long-term survival.
Today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences, Dr Lisa Hurt and Dr Carine Ronsmans of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, working with Dr Maria Quigley of Oxford University, found that this was the case in a poor rural area in Bangladesh.
The study of women in Matlab, where data has been gathered on about 200,000 people, concluded that there are indeed "long term costs of bearing sons".
Mortality increased by 11 per cent with each son born. There was no association between mortality and the number of daughters.
For men there was no clear link between longevity and the numbers of sons born. However, their mortality decreased with each surviving son, while daughters had no effect.
Mom died this year of a brain tumor at the age of 88, she had four boys and two girls.
After raising four sons I guess I'm living on borrowed time.
With two teenage sons, I keep wondering when my aneurysm is going to burst!!!
I'll bet you haven't regretted it at all.
I am so envious of big families. I think they would be such a blessing.
Mom is pushing 80 with no health issues. Of course she drinks and smokes. She had two sons and one daughter. I think my sister has caused my mother more worry than my brother and I.
I raised three and between parachute drops from trees using sheets to Evil Kenevil bike wrecks to the escalated rubberband nail guns and the WMD M80s in the sewers, I'm lucky to still be alive.....
~wouldn't have missed it for the world!
I think.....
This strikes me as absolute horse manure. The study was probably funded by population controllers and run by abortionists.
Sure, having a baby is no picnic. But we have a ton of kids, and my wife is as healthy as they come.
Other studies have shown that people with stable marriages and children generally are healthy and live longer. So, take your pick.
Not for one minute. We are still a close family.
Roger Highfield wears bloomers.
My mother had 4 boys and one girl. She's still doing well at 85. My father died at 72.
My Grandmother had 10 kids, 6 sons. Lived to be 98. FWIW.
LOL, I bet we could write a book.
My sister also has 4 boys. She's just fine but her husband has been a physical wreck for years.
"My Grandmother had 10 kids, 6 sons. Lived to be 98. FWIW."
Oops, make that 11 kids, 7 sons. Forgot an Uncle. Sheesh.
In "very" traditional times, lack of sons would decrease parents longevity, due to lack of strong arms to defend the homestead
I'm doomed!!
Where the crap did that come from. I've got 2 boys and one girl, had to take care of all of them equally. babies need food, shelter, cleaning and love, regardless of sex. What an idiotic claim.
My son's mother died at 34 of breast cancer. I'm 62 and still kicking. (not real high though)
"The study of women in Matlab, where data has been gathered on about 200,000 people, concluded that there are indeed "long term costs of bearing sons".
LOL, is Matlab a place, or is some math-challenged social science person bragging that they know how to use the Matlab programming language? :)
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