Does having a baby in mid to late thirties delay menopause?

[Kiki1703]

Interested in when perimenopause and menopause started for those that had last child in mid - late twenties vs mid - late thirties?

I think late babies can make a difference. My grandmother had her last child in her 40s and said her periods just didn't come back after stopping breastfeeding. No symptoms of perimenopause whatsoever. Her doctor apparently told her it was a very good way (although rather drastic) way of dealing with menopause. Probably just anecdotal but the doctor seemed to believe that it made a difference.

Children late 30s and early 40s, peri at 50ish and still in it, no sign of periods stopping, no hrt

First baby at 28, second when I was 31. Last period at 56 years old. Started my period at 15 years old.

Last baby aged 43 and peri at 46

Last baby 38, last pregnancy (miscarried) at 46. Regular periods with no signs of peri menopause.

No. I had my youngest at 36 and blood tests showed I was menopausal by 39.

My final pregnancy was at age 36. My periods have never gone back to how they were before.

Baby at 40, in peri mid 50s.

I think there are other factors you, as women who exercise are likely to enter menopause slightly later. Women from some ethnicities enter menopause earlier. Add in genetics and it would take some research to figure it all out.

Having babies in general will delay it becuase whilst you are pregnant you are not releasing any eggs so your ovarian reserve will last longer. Menopause starts when there are no more eggs being released and therefore periods stop.

I had my last baby at 40 whilst in early perimenopause due to premature ovarian insuffiency.

Although I still have them , they are just a bit irregular. In hindsight, that may have been the start of peri.

I worried my first post made it sound like they never returned .

Only baby at almost 40, 51 now, still have regular 4-weekly periods. Must be perimenopausal but no symptoms.

First dc at 22,
Second at 29,
Third at 31.

Now on HRT at 33.

Due to pregnancy/breastfeeding/pregnancy again and breastfeeding again, I've not had a period since I was 28.

According to blood and hormone tests I'm in my menopause. I thought I was loosing my mind as my moods were up and down, I was forgetting everything even during a sentence I'd forget what I was saying.

As I suffered with poor mental health most of my life I'm not really sure when that started as I feel like I went from prenatal mental health issues, to PND to Depression and Anxiety and right back to pre and post natal Depression and Anxiety and then into menopause brain... I just hope that'll be the end of it now although I'm sad I can't have anymore children.

Had my youngest when I was about 40, am mid 50s now with no peri symptoms and my periods are as regular as ever.

We are born with about 5 million eggs so not releasing for 9 months isn't even a drop in the ocean. We don't get 400 and used one up each month and once we run out we are done.

Had dc just before my 37th birthday and periods never went back to normal, formally diagnosed with peri aged 39.

From what I learned at the time, you are far more likely to be influenced by how old your mother was when she started the menopause than by the age at which you give birth.

Wrong, having babies doesn't delay menopause, it's determined by your genes, if your mother or first degree relative has an early menopause then chances are you will too, by the time you reach menopause you're down to about 1000 eggs, which sounds a huge amount but it isn't really, most of them will be genetically compromised and of very poor quality as this explains How Many Eggs Does a Woman Have? - Clearblue

I don't think so, OP. My mum had her last baby at 37 and started menopause around 40.

I didn’t for me or my Mum.

I had my last child at 42. I'm 54 now and still having periods annoyingly

Don't think so. Why would it? Had last baby at 39. Went into peri at about 46 probably. Might have been before, but by 46 had definite hot flushes, night sweats etc. Last period at 50.

Yes, I have settled down since being on HRT, low dose but it’s probably time to up it 2 years later.

I had my second at 45, menopause done and dusted by 51, same as DM and D Sis.

I started perimenopause in my mid-late thirties after having DS at 36. In fact my periods never came back properly after he was born. So definitely not in my case. I was told later that I was very lucky to have managed to conceive him as I must have been down to my last few eggs.

Edited to clarify - my last few thousand viable eggs. Not my last half dozen.

They've got their statistics in a right old twist there, and got cause and effect the wrong way round.

It's like them saying that if you jump red traffic lights often enough, you will become a bad driver!

We are all born with a finite number of eggs in our ovaries. Menopausal symptoms start when you're running out. Some people have more eggs than others and are fertile until they are older, so it stands to reason that statistically speaking, people with more eggs will be able to continue to have babies for longer.

Last baby at 42, still in peri at 53. I am the same as my Mum - she had her last baby at 39 and menopause at 56.