What Killer Whales and Menopausal Women Have in Common

Just to be clear, I am not referring to the killer mood swings that can occur during menopause but to a study by the Universities of Exeter and Cambridge.

It’s all about bringing up baby

This study has found a link between killer whales, pilot whales and humans (in this case the female variety) as the only three known species known to stop breeding relatively early in their lifespan.

The research was led by Dr Michael Cant, from the University of Exeter’s School of Biosciences, but I do wonder how much experience of menopausal women he has that drew him to do it?

However science goes bravely forward and has given us for the first time a plausible explanation as to why these species in particular are the only ones in which reproduction ends while there is still plenty of healthy and active life to look forward.

How much killer whales look forward to the future is not actually known but let’s be generous and assume that they too have dreams of holidays in Tahiti when the children have grown up.

Women take on the role of carer

What they have discovered is that despite very different social structures between the three species, the research shows that in each case females become increasingly genetically related to those they live with as they get older.

Because of this, there is a motivation for older females to do what is best for the survival of those around them.

Or in other words, the female now takes on a ‘grandmother’ role, so that the success rate of breeding in the group can be helped by older females sharing parenting knowledge and stopping breeding to allow younger females easier access to resources.

Of course for us humans this theory has just flown out of the window with the development of IVF and the new menopause prediction tests.

Women’s desire to control their fertility and continue having babies at a much older age – even into their 60s – is going to have quite an impact.

Grandmothers are no longer going to be as available for baby sitting and are much more likely to be asking their children to help out with cat and dog sitting while they go off for adventure holidays or festivals!

Helpful information

What I am certainly aware of is that more women are using contraception much later even into their Menopause to help with symptoms such as heavy bleeding or even mood swings.

Much of this is based on synthetic hormones which do have their own side effects and can affect the response of your own hormones.please note it is important if you are using contraceptions not to mix them with bio identical hormones as they can lessen the effect of your contraception. They can be used if you have them for mood swings or heavy bleeding.

The symptoms women experience at Menopause can include mood swings, brain fog, weight gain as well as the usual hot flushes and Sleep disturbances.

So checking that you have sufficient hormones to keep you level is important. You may need some progesterone, as that is the hormone that declines most rapidly at Menopause, and is certainly effective in helping you stay calm.

However, you may just need some progesterone but if your symptoms are severe, you would be better with a combination cream that has both progesterone and oestrogen such as Wellsprings combination Twenty to One cream.

But if you are not sure which hormones you may be lacking then this article can help.

Which hormone or hormones might you need?