Early puberty - early menopause?

[Vroomfondleswaistcoat]

I'm sorry if this is a really stupid question. But I've been hearing SO MUCH lately about girls starting puberty at, what seem to me to be, incredibly young ages. 10 years old no longer seems to be 'really young', and the age of puberty is dropping all the time.

Given that we have a finite supply of eggs, does this mean that, in the future, we're going to have a generation of women who reach menopause much earlier than previous generations? Are women going to have to have families much younger, in order to be fertile? Or does 'reaching puberty' and starting periods not equal ovulation? I know one can have periods without ovulating, so is this is what is happening in these very young girls?

I am more worried about IVF cycles for women creating earlier menopause - its not unusual to get 15 eggs or more.

Interesting question and good answers from paper sheet and my coffee cup

I started periods just before starting secondary school. And only started missing odd periods at 53. My mum started menopause around 54.

I've pondered this too. I started my periods at 16 and for years after that they were erratic or non existent due to ED, and I've had 6 pregnancies, 4 babies.
So all in all way fewer periods than other women my age. And now I'm 52 and have had no sign of menopause, my periods are still regular

It in my experience. Started menstruating at 11, didn't have last period til 55.

I was also 11 and was still having periods at 56.

Started periods at 13 which I thought was average. Last period 53 which I also thought was average. Perhaps it is but there's loads of variety on here.

Mine started at 9 and at 49 still going strong

Started periods at 11 and stopped at 53/54 (Menopause was such a non-event that I really can't remember exactly!). My sister was the same.

Interestingly, my mother didn't have her first period until 16 and went thru Menopause in her mid to late 40's. I find it a bit odd that my sister and I were the opposite of my mother, but perhaps that's not unusual?

I had a vague idea that the correlation went the other way around- they earlier you start, the later you tend to finish. Which would seem to be borne out anecdotally by this thread. Isn’t it the case though that your eggs were actually created when your maternal grandmother was conceived? Which blows my mind a bit, but also I think means that the ages your mother and grandmother were when they gave birth will be a factor in the quality of your eggs.

I started at 11 and had last one at 54.

But say a woman has 5 cycles of ivf each producing 15 eggs each time. That's 75 eggs. Considering the millions women are born with would 75 make that much difference? Like I said before if being on the pill for 20 years doesn't make people go through menopause later at 70 why would ivf make a woman hit it earlier?

Nope. Starting earlier. Finishing later. We are not pregnant as much over our lifetimes as women of the past either so are releasing eggs more frequently.
But we are born with millions. Not all end up being used in ovulation. Read the 'fast facts' here. It's simple and explains a lot.

www.cnyfertility.com/how-many-eggs-do-women-have/

Mine started at 11. Still not gone through menopause and I'm 49.

I started at 11 last period at 59. Last baby at 40. In my family and friends there seems to be a correlation between late babies and late menopause.

Often the reverse can be the case- early puberty and late meno as there are lots of eggs.

It is the other way round. Early puberty-later menopause.

(Have done much reaearch as I has earlymenopause (44) and started periods at 15.)

I’m 54 and my periods are dwindling - think I’m shortly going to have one. I started them at 11. And had my child in my early forties.

I had my first period at 11 and my last period at 52

First period at 11, last at 54.

Isn't menopause more linked to things like when your mother had hers and also how many kids you've had? My friend is peri at 42 and she wanted to have a child with sperm donor but her doctor told her that some women start to go through peri menopause earlier if they get into early 40s with no children yet.

It's probably a complex set of circumstances like any other health related things.

I can't remember exactly when I started but I was having periods for quite some time at primary. 42 now and peri, with barely a period here and there.

I started at 11. Am post meno at 41.

I also read an article recently that said that science suggests that women who don't have much sex or don't orgasm at least once a week are more likely to experience earlier menopause than those who do.

No idea if that's true!

I think it's the opposite....! Late puberty = early menopause.

I had late puberty (nearly 16) and early menopause (46), and I understood there was a link between the two.

Crazy to think that some women have 10-15 years more periods than I did. 🙃