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Bearing Sons 'Can Shorten Mother's Life'
The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 11-2-2005 | Roger Highfield

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.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bearing; can; life; males; motherhood; mothers; shorten; sons
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To: Constantine XIII

"...in a poor rural area in Bangladesh."


21 posted on 11/01/2005 6:33:17 PM PST by gate2wire
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To: blam
Oops..My Husband was an only child and his Mother lived to be 97.

sw

22 posted on 11/01/2005 6:33:40 PM PST by spectre (Spectre's wife)
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To: Constantine XIII

That is freaking hilarious -- I bet there was a passage in the article stating the analysis was done in Matlab, or some such thing... The reporter, I'm guessing, is the fool.


23 posted on 11/01/2005 6:36:14 PM PST by Monti Cello
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To: blam

I have known this for years.


24 posted on 11/01/2005 6:37:41 PM PST by Alouette (The only thing that we learn from history is that nobody ever learns from history.)
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To: blam

I'll bet having a teenaged daughter is the leading cause of death in males aged 40-60.


25 posted on 11/01/2005 6:40:09 PM PST by WinOne4TheGipper (Merry Fizzlemas, DUmmies!)
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To: blam

the moron who did this "study" no doubt makes a million a year.


26 posted on 11/01/2005 6:41:44 PM PST by fatteddy (god help us)
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To: blam

Sorry about your Mom...

Speaking as the mom of three sons, they will shorten mine if I don't shorten their lives first LOL!


27 posted on 11/01/2005 6:44:15 PM PST by Protect the Bill of Rights
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To: blam

My great grandmother had 3 sons and 3 daughters who lived to adulthood, and bore two more, one who died in childbirth, and other at age one when one of her children rocked the baby into the fire, and she lived to be 101 (1845-1947).


28 posted on 11/01/2005 6:47:48 PM PST by Torie
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To: ebersole

I hope never that is how my mom died.


29 posted on 11/01/2005 6:48:33 PM PST by joesnuffy
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To: blam

Rest her soul


30 posted on 11/01/2005 6:48:59 PM PST by cubreporter
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To: blam

If you listen to my mother it's RAISING them that shortens your life...


31 posted on 11/01/2005 6:49:39 PM PST by No Longer Free State (No event has just one cause, no person has just one motive, no action has just the intended effect.)
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To: blam

Sons are a bigger hassle. Do daughters increase their lifespan however?


32 posted on 11/01/2005 6:50:25 PM PST by HiTech RedNeck (No wonder the Southern Baptist Church threw Greer out: Only one god per church! [Ann Coulter])
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To: Torie

WOW!!!!


33 posted on 11/01/2005 6:51:14 PM PST by cubreporter
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To: blam
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.

My grandparents had 2 daughters and 5 sons. My grandfather died in his early 60s, my grandmother in her mid-80s.

I guess it's not a hard-and-fast rule.

34 posted on 11/01/2005 6:53:48 PM PST by Amelia
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To: Monti Cello

Heh heh


35 posted on 11/01/2005 6:53:52 PM PST by Constantine XIII
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To: SouthernFreebird
"Mortality increased by 11 per cent with each son born. There was no association between mortality and the number of daughters."

The last time I looked, mortality was very close to 100%, the sole exception being Elijah, who, as I recall, was carried to heaven in a fiery chariot.

36 posted on 11/01/2005 6:55:13 PM PST by Tom D. (Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. - Benj. Franklin)
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To: blam

I'm sorry for your loss, FRiend!


37 posted on 11/01/2005 6:58:41 PM PST by Fierce Allegiance (Want to be on my Civil Engineers ping list? Just say so!)
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To: JudyinCanada
I am an only child. After witnessing siblings' behavior toward one another, I was thankful for my solitude. A good friend of mine is the last of thirteen. Her mother is in wonderful health. As to health, my daughter is the cause for greater stress than my son. She is less inclined to perform tasks as instructed and requires much more supervision. My son is more compliant and attentive to detail. After reading historical accounts of what was required of children (girls of five years darning socks, boys of the same age chopping firewood) we really do expect much less of our children these days.
38 posted on 11/01/2005 6:59:51 PM PST by Seizure
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To: JudyinCanada

You said it. I would love to have had more but got started too late in life.


39 posted on 11/01/2005 7:09:03 PM PST by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: Tom D.

And Enoch who walked with God in Genesis before the Flood. Gen. 5:24


40 posted on 11/01/2005 7:14:00 PM PST by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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