Say goodbye to menstruation?

[BTox]

Oops... yeah, I got that backwards.

As was pointed out, you can't "save" your eggs until you're ready to get pregnant. Whomever is in their mid-thirties should get busy now. You are at increased risk already for having a Down's syndrome baby. The older you get, the more risky (not easier) pregancy becomes. The best age to have kids is mid-twenties. Unfortunately, in our current sociological climate, this is no longer practical for many women.

-TT

P.S. Start taking a folic acid supplements now too.

I agree, we waited until mid-thirties to start trying to have a baby and had a hell of a time. Fortunately, a very competent fertility specialist (the second one we went to) helped us have a wonderful, healthy son. Had we waited another year or so, the situation could have been completely hopeless.

 

[tracer]

Hmmm... There's a lot of evidence out there that suggests that anovulatory cycles increase the risk for certain endometrial cancers.

Yeah, and there's evidence that suggests that taking estrogen and progestin to restore ovulatory cycles after menopause can increase the risk for heart attacks. So pick your poison.

 

[reprise]

The first contraception I ever used was the OCP at age 16. I used to just start a new 21 day pack as soon as I finished the pack I was on. Even 30 years ago, doctors used to often tell their patients to skip the "rest" period if they were going on holiday or there was a special occasion coming up during which they didn't want to be menstruating.

My understanding is that continuous use of hormonal forms of contraception per se is not what creates the risk (if it was, long-acting hormonal contraceptives should amplify the risk many, many times), but rather the aggregate period for which a woman uses artificial hormones between puberty and menopause - this is somewhat similar to what seems to be true of HRT; prolonged use of HRT seems to increase the risk of certain diseases.

 

[JSFolk]

Okay, ThirdTwin, your comment about taking folic acid supplements reminded me of something I've been wondering about....

I've read that the evolutionary explanation for different skin colors among human populations has to do with the competing needs of Vitamin D production and folic acid retention. (In short, sunlight exposure rapidly destroys folic acid in the bloodstream of honkies like me, but people of color don't make enough vitamin D in high lattitudes.) If this is the case, would it not be advisable for light-skinned women to stay out of the sun while pregnant? (and by "stay out of the sun", I'm not talking about living in a cave, but rather not going to the beach sunbathing)

JSF

edited for spelling

 

[Eos of the Eons]

I don't think it would hurt, but of course more 'proof' would be needed to convince anyone. I'm just staying out of the sun because I'm so white that I get the flu if I try to use tanning beds. The doc said the beds affected my immune system and I couldn't fight off bugs as well. In the sun I burn, and don't tan.

I envy people with pigment

 

[reprise]

Okay, ThirdTwin, your comment about taking folic acid supplements reminded me of something I've been wondering about....

I've read that the evolutionary explanation for different skin colors among human populations has to do with the competing needs of Vitamin D production and folic acid retention. (In short, sunlight exposure rapidly destroys folic acid in the bloodstream of honkies like me, but people of color don't make enough vitamin D in high lattitudes.) If this is the case, would it not be advisable for light-skinned women to stay out of the sun while pregnant? (and by "stay out of the sun", I'm not talking about living in a cave, but rather not going to the beach sunbathing)

JSF

edited for spelling

I would hope that no-one still goes to the beach to sunbathe these days...

Is it UV which is supposed to destroy Vitamin D? If so, then wearing the sunscreens we should all be wearing anyway would surely be the solution.

 

[Dr. Imago]

Haven't heard about the "pigmentation/folic acid retention" thing. Can you point me to an Internet source where I can read?

And, no, UV does not destroy Vitamin-D. Actually, you need some sun to produce Vitamin-D. There is a fairly complex series of reactions (involving the kidney, intestine, skin) that allow you to endogenously make Vitamin-D. UV light is required to accomplish this. This is why people who live in climates that get little sunlight are at a greater risk for osteomalacia, unless they supplement with Vitamin-D exogenously (i.e., vitamin form or in fortified milk).

-TT

 

[JSFolk]

Umm... let's see...


http://www.discover.com/feb_01/featbiology.html

http://www.biosci.ohio-state.edu/~eeob/eeob400/Handout3.pdf

 

[Dr. Imago]

Thanks for the links, and based on the information therein in response to this question...

If this is the case, would it not be advisable for light-skinned women to stay out of the sun while pregnant? (and by "stay out of the sun", I'm not talking about living in a cave, but rather not going to the beach sunbathing)

... it would seem so.

But, as someone else pointed out, I think the general consensus is that pretty much no one should be out sunbathing. You may look nice, but that melanoma or squamous cell carcinoma you're asking for won't be to nice to you later on down the road.

Nice bit of research, though, and thanks for sharing.

-TT

(edit to add this: The development of the neural tube (and subsequent defects), however, occur very early in the pregnancy. Often the woman is not even yet aware that she's pregnant and the damage has already been done. That's why all women of childbearing age who intend on getting pregnant should start supplementing with folate before they get pregnanty.)

 

[Eos of the Eons]

Cool, so dark skinned people need more sunlight to produce vitaman D than light skinned people.

People in warm areas wear less clothes, so more exposure to the sun results in darker skin, but still retain the ability to get vitamin D because of the sun exposure.

Light skinned people need light skin because they have less sun exposure and need to take advantage of whatever sun exposure they do get.

Darker skinned people that move to colder climates find themselves in a pickle:

It's already known, for example, that dark-skinned people who move to cloudy climes can develop conditions such as rickets from vitamin D deficiencies. More important, Jablonski hopes her work will begin to change the way people think about skin color. "We can take a topic that has caused so much disagreement, so much suffering, and so much misunderstanding," she says, "and completely disarm it."

Evolution folks. We have evolved so that people can take advantage of all habitats on earth. Light skinned people don't fare as well in hot places (I just burn and never tan, so I hate being out in the sun). Dark skinned people don't fare as well in colder areas.

Skin color has nothing to do with any racist notions that white skinned people are the fittest. We all are the 'fittest' in areas that best suit our skin color. We all have equal fitness. Of course we can adapt too. Darker skinned people can take vitamin supplements and lighter skinned people can avoid sunlight.

People who can tan and lose the tan are the most adaptable. Whities like me are less adaptable because I can never get much skin color, and really dark skinned people can't get as light as me.


I figure the ideal is the folks who can change their skin color the most. We all need to interbreed to get folks who can tan and fade as needed -you know-like those bunnies that turn white in winter and very dark in summer.