Advice for Women

The Facts and Myths of the Biological Clock

Women do have what is referred to in the popular press as a “biologic clock.” A woman’s reproductive life, which begins at menarche and ends at menopause, is a well defined period of time. A woman is born with a fixed number of egg cells or oocytes, actually in the millions, and steadily these numbers decrease until a woman no longer ovulates. With menarche occurring on average around 13 years of age and menopause occurring in most women between 45 and 55 years of age, this is the time frame when women may become pregnant. Generally, women above the age of 35 begin to experience decreased fertility. Women are most fertile between the ages of 20 and 24, then again, women well into their forties are quite capability of having healthy children making the term “fertility” a relative term, especially if one might consider various fertility treatments.

The Myth of the Biologic Clock

Whenever anybody has to do anything in a fixed amount of time, this is bound to create anxiety. However, the age at which women may have healthy and normal children is actually much older than when women in historical times began having children, which was usually in the teenage years. As society has become more progressive, the benefits of women delaying child birth has lead to an increase in the average age of the mother at first child birth. Young women face many hurdles if they choose to start families early. Delays in finishing education goals, career goals and significant stress on their personal lives are all major obstacles for women who start having babies at a young age.

A Patriarchal Bias for Very Young Mothers?

Generations ago, young women in their early twenties might have been shunned or strongly encouraged to “start a family” in their late teenage years or early twenties, perhaps partly due to the fact that the patriarchy at the time believed that a woman’s ability to enter a profession to be unlikely or even undesired by society. This may have lead to a disregard for the young woman’s pursuit of her educational and career goals.

Changing Attitudes About the Correct Time for Child Birth

Many women are deciding to first obtain the education for a meaningful career and pursue this career before starting a family, and given that women in their thirties and even into their forties have a good chance of becoming pregnant, this appears to be a beneficial strategy for both women and their families. More educated women, especially those with college degrees, have been studied and found to have several advantages over younger women without a college education.

In addition, new technology such as in vitro fertilization coupled with the possibility that young women may have their eggs harvested and frozen for later use has given more impetus for fully pursuing their careers without excessively worrying about their biological clock.

Biological Clock: Fact or Fiction is under copyright by Free Advice for Women. All rights reserved.