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.
My aunt, who is 96 and still active, will probably outlast me -- and she is the mother of two sons, no daughters, and 3 grandsons, no granddaughters.
Feminists will do anything to get rid of males entirely.
Besides, it's Bush's fault.
/sarc
Grandma died at 94 after rearing 8 boys and 5 girls. She obviously died before her time.
dang....so am I
My mom, 86 years young, had 6 girls! hmmmmmmm....I suddenly feel very old. 3 sons....26, 24 and 21. I wonder how much longer I have??????
LOL...Bless her Blam, sounds like my Mom.....she's 71 and is tough as nails still.
Stay Safe !
My mother had 4 boys
Lived to 85 and would have lived longer if she hadn't secretly stopped taking her BP medication for a while causing her heart to enlarge
Even if true, having a son is worth every lost minute..
I have 3 sons 22,18,and 17......my advice to young moms of boys is pick your hair color now because gray hair comes early....at least it did for me....still would not trade my boys..... my oldest put me through hell as a youngster but turned out to be a great teen and young man.....love those boys!!!!!
My great grandmother lived into her 80's...and had 14 kids!
Oh, we love ours too. We now get to chuckle whenever our sons complain about their sons.
Going to Nebraska on the 13th for Mother's 95th. There were 5 of us boys.
"We now get to chuckle whenever our sons complain about their sons."
I know I will also get a big laugh when my sons have their own....hee-hee
And don't they just make you laugh?......my boys keep my laughing all the time and yet at the same time they can irritate me.....I know God knew I was better suited to be a boy mom....
More crap studies from an university doing all they can to waste government money.
The theory of "those that can do, those that can't teach" is proven correct once again.
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