Explained: Why modern women reach menopause sooner than past generations

Dr. Hameed Adediran, a public health expert, says women today are reaching menopause earlier than past generations, mainly because they are having fewer children.

Dr. Adediran, who works with Population Services International (PSI) Nigeria, spoke at a workshop in Lagos for journalists and social media influencers.

The event was aimed at improving public understanding of menstrual health.

He explained that girls are born with about 1 to 2 million eggs, but only around 400 are released during a woman’s reproductive years.

Each month a woman menstruates, she uses one egg. However, when a woman is pregnant and breastfeeding, she doesn’t menstruate. This pause saves eggs.

For example, pregnancy and breastfeeding can pause menstruation for about 15 months per child.

In the past, it was common for women in African cultures to have four to six children, which meant their bodies had years of natural breaks from menstruating. This helped delay menopause.

Dr. Adediran gave an example:
If a woman has five children, and each child brings 15 months of no menstruation, that’s 75 months (over six years) when eggs are preserved.

This contributed to many women in the past reaching menopause later.

He also explained that if a woman has 400 eggs and starts menstruating at age 15, she might go through menopause around age 48 to 50 (400 eggs ÷ 12 months = about 33 years of menstruation).

But today, many women have only one or two children or none at all so their menstruation continues month after month without long breaks.

This leads to eggs being used up faster and menopause coming earlier.

Other factors like genetics, health conditions, and pollution can also affect when menopause begins, but changes in childbearing patterns and modern lifestyles play a big role.

Dr. Adediran encouraged the media to help educate the public on how reproductive choices affect women’s health, both physically and emotionally.

The workshop also addressed breaking myths about menstruation, responsible health reporting, and improving access to menstrual products and education.