Is It True That Having A Child Makes Women Old Fast?

According to a number of studies, having children can make women old quickly. (Unsplash)

Medically, a number of observers say having children makes women older. Several factors such as the process of pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and raising children greatly confiscate the energy of women.

The assumption that women who have children are older is actually often heard from a long time ago. And, the claim broke again after the statement of influencer or influencer, Gita Savitri.

Tidak punya anak adalah anti penghargaan diri yang nasal. Kamu bisa tidur delapan jam per hari (dan) tidak merasakan stres karena mendengar baby berteria. Ketika kamu mulai memiliki karink, kamu punya uang untuk botox," ujar Gita melalui akun Instagram pribadinya @guitasav.

Gita's statement, an Indonesian citizen who lives in Germany, sparked controversy. A number of theories do say that having more offspring causes shorter lives, including in humans. However, although research has been carried out for hundreds of years, there is no firm evidence to justify this.

Women are certain to experience physical changes during pregnancy and childbirth. However, women also experience significant hormonal and physiological changes. The researchers continue to try to understand how pregnancy and childbirth affect the aging process.

The researchers are observing a number of signs of ageing biologically, such as the telomer or the tip of the chromosome that stagnates with age, epigenetics or studies related to gene changes due to a person's behavior and environment, as well as the microchmerism or some genetic cells that settle in organisms.

So far, the results of the research are very diverse. Research entitled "Parity Associated with Telomere Length Among US Reproductive Age Women" published by Oxford University Press, said pregnancy and childbirth proved to accelerate women's aging at a fundamental level.

The telomer for pregnant women, according to the study, appears to be about four to four years older than women who do not have children.

Telomers are yarn-like structures on the tips of chromodynamics that contain genetic material. The telomers are like the tips of a hard shoe strap and serve to protect the chromosomes. When the telomer is too short, the cells die and stop replicating.

The shorter telomer is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and other health conditions. The telomer is also known to stagnate in all humans with age. In addition, pregnancy and childbirth are also factors that can shorten the telomer.

However, the telomer does not only stagnate due to age and childbirth factors. Lifestyles such as smoking, high body mass indexes, and severe stress can also speed up the telomer shortening process. While quality sleep, regular exercise, and healthy eating patterns can keep the telomer long.

Another study, entitled The Number of Times a Person Gives Birth May Affect How Quickly They Age from The Pennsylvania State University, United States, said that several times giving birth could affect the physical aging process of the body.

From the same study, pregnancy and birth also contribute to changes and regulations of several different physiological systems. This can affect aging once a person enters menopause.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding require a large amount of body energy. Well, this condition can affect many body systems, including immune, metabolism, and blood pressure functions.

People who have given birth are also more likely to die from diabetes, kidney disease, and hypertension, among other conditions, than those who do not give birth.

However, a different result was published in a study entitledNumber of Children and Telomere Length in Women: A Prospective, Longitudinal Evaluation. This study shows that pregnancy can slow down the aging process.

"This difference in results will definitely be found in the early stages of research. Any single study can be wrong even when scientists do everything right," he continued, said biology anthropologist at the University of Washington, and Eisenberg.

Eisenberg said the way science research works is that researchers are observing similar questions around the world, then combining some of the observational results and studies to see trends and conclude the truth.

The aging process for women is apparently also influenced by social support, which could be a major long factor in telomeres, according to University epidemiologist Simon Fraser, Pablo Nepomnaschy.

In his 2016 study, Nepomnaschy observed 75 women from two neighboring rural communities and measured the length of the telomer at two points for 13 years. As a result, women in Guatemala who have children actually have longer telomers than those who do not have children.

"The Maya people in Guatemala believe that children are a gift from God, children are a blessing," said Nepomnaschy.

"Therefore, women are expected to have many children. There may be a lot of pressure if they do not have children in the community," he added.

According to Nepomnaschy, women in Guatemala help each other in raising children. The oldest daughter in the family usually helps take care of the younger one. Support systems or support structures like this are not something that many American women have.

"This is purely a hypothesis," said Nepomnaschy.

"However, community support can reduce stress levels in mothers and have an impact on increasing the length of the telomer. It can also help explain why there are differences between their findings and other studies," he continued.

Seeing the many different results from a number of studies, Eisenberg said self-aging that occurs after pregnancy and childbirth is not something to worry about.