You may think that an article relating to menopause is out of place on a site relating to having a healthy baby.
Perhaps not. One aspect of menopause that stands out for me is that how a woman experiences this transitional phase is determined before she is born.
This is yet another aspect of adult health that is pre-determined by parents before they conceive. After conception this programming continues in utero and after birth.
The first 1,000 days of life, starting from conception, represent a critical window of growth and development.
In chapter 18 of my book I explain how your child’s emotional foundations are formed while in utero. What this means is, what the mother experiences during pregnancy the unborn baby is also experiencing. In particular stress. This lays down emotional programming that determines how that child will respond to stress throughout its life.
A 2021 study by Kapoor et al showed there was a significant association between childhood adversity and total menopausal symptoms. Women with the most severe menopausal symptoms were more likely to report four or more adverse childhood experiences, when compared to women with less severe menopausal symptoms, a pattern that was consistent across all menopausal symptom domains.
In addition to emotional foundations and stress response, the child growing inside you is also being programmed for inflammation and other biochemical pathways for its future life.
One of these includes how your daughter will experience menopause.
If you have been reading my blogs, you will be familiar with how important pre-conception preparation is for conception, a viable pregnancy and the health of your future child. You may have read the article that also explains how reproductive disorders, including endometriosis, begin in the uterus.
So, writing about menopause definitely has a place when we think about having a healthy baby.
What your baby experiences from conception, in utero and after birth will affect them throughout life, even how your daughter experiences menopause.
Read more in my book – available on Amazon.
Kapoor E, Okuno M, Miller VM, Rocca LG, Rocca WA, Kling JM, Kuhle CL, Mara KC, Enders FT, Faubion SS. Association of adverse childhood experiences with menopausal symptoms: Results from the Data Registry on Experiences of Aging, Menopause and Sexuality (DREAMS). Maturitas. 2021 Jan;143:209-215. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2020.10.006. Epub 2020 Oct 14. PMID: 33308631; PMCID: PMC7880696.
