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Biological Clock

gromit

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I watched the movie Baby Mama with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, and it sort of terrified me a little bit. Is this biological clock thing fer rills? Does it turn women into these crazed, will-do-anything-for-baby people? Have there been any studies done studies to confirm or disprove that it is in fact a biological clock and not some sort of socio-cultural clock?
 

Geno

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Ummm...

I heard somewhere humans have a natural clock that works within an estimated 24 hour period.


Even though I never saw that movie and have no idea what your talking about..
 

gromit

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I think you're referring to circadian rhythms. I'm referring to this idea that a woman's eggs run out at a certain point and as she begins to approach this point she feels an overwhelming desire to reproduce.
 

Lux

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I think it depends on the woman. Some women have thought of having children since they were children themselves. Others, just don't have that strong of a need. I don't think it is an indiscriminate chemical reaction that affects all women. Humans are made to reproduce, but I am unsure if that would be more than the extra surge of hormones when a woman is at her most fertile.

I also have to wonder about societal pressure with the whole biological clock thing.
 
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Phantonym

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Well, biological clock, as in the age from which female and male fertility starts to decline is a real thing. I couldn't find any full free articles online, but Dr. David Dunson led the study a few years ago.

Whether this desire to have babies has a genetic base is unclear to me, I haven't done any extensive research on it to find information to either back it up or disprove it. However, I found this interesting theoretical article that explores this "baby fever" phenomenon a bit further. So, I think it's at least an interesting read. :)

http://www.valt.helsinki.fi/staff/rotkirch/biologicalclockrotkirch.pdf
 

Geno

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I think you're referring to circadian rhythms. I'm referring to this idea that a woman's eggs run out at a certain point and as she begins to approach this point she feels an overwhelming desire to reproduce.

Well I know my grandma did this and she succeeded. She wanted another baby because she was getting too old and wanted another kid before she went threw the "change"
 

Thalassa

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Well I know my grandma did this and she succeeded. She wanted another baby because she was getting too old and wanted another kid before she went threw the "change"

Well women don't go through "the change" until they're at least in their mid-to-late 40s. My mom didn't until she was into her 50s. Women's biological clocks actually are supposed to start ticking in their 30s, and a woman's sexual peak is supposedly in her mid-30s. Just wanted to clear that up for you. There's a pretty wide space between those two events...
 

sculpting

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Maybe it is less hormonally driven and more just understanding that the reproductive years are ending-thus a since of urgency about having a baby?
 

Randomnity

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Maybe it is less hormonally driven and more just understanding that the reproductive years are ending-thus a since of urgency about having a baby?
I'm sure this plays a big role. Most women know that your chances of conceiving start diving down in your mid 30s so if you've always wanted kids, this is probably in the back of your mind as you approach that age.

edit: I agree that the real "baby crazy" women are very, very rare outside of TV.
 

Forever_Jung

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I recall reading that after 30, women have around 1/3 of their eggs left. It is better to have a baby when you're younger (biologically at least), but bear in mind you were watching a comedy, that genre tends to exaggerate things for comic effect.
 

CzeCze

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I recall reading that after 30, women have around 1/3 of their eggs left. It is better to have a baby when you're younger (biologically at least), but bear in mind you were watching a comedy, that genre tends to exaggerate things for comic effect.

Only a third???

It blew my mind a little that if you carry a daughter you are also carrying your grandchildren. Meaning women are born with all our eggs, they get made while we're getting made in the womb. Deep.
 

CrystalViolet

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I think it's a socio-cultural thing. There's a lot of pressure out there to have kids when you are in thirties. I'm feeling it most acutely at 32, and I don't want kids (it's been relegated down to I'm not sure....). Every body's been pressuring me since I was 25, like I'm kinda unnatural or something being a women and not wanting her own kids. On top of that people keep regaling me with childbirth stories. Like that makes me wanna do it more! I wanna get split open like a peach, trying to squeeze a basket ball out of a 50 cent sized hole. Where do I sign up for that. Not everyone's destined to be a breeder(sorry, I don't mean to be insulting to those parents out there). Apparently that's all I'm good for.
 
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Oberon

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Some biological clocking is a by-product of a post-feminist society that tells women that they can "have it all"... they can be the successful corporate go-getter at work and the nurturing mom at home.

They pursue the career for ten years or so, then realize at some point around age 32 that they would really like to have a family and at least one kid, but they don't even have a steady boyfriend because... well, just because. So if they want that kid they'd best be about it. It's not an uncommon story.
 

Halla74

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I watched the movie Baby Mama with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, and it sort of terrified me a little bit. Is this biological clock thing fer rills? Does it turn women into these crazed, will-do-anything-for-baby people?

Let me put it this way. People are very diverse in their genetic programming, familial upbringing, life experiences, etc. Despite these differences we are all human, we are mammals, and we feel the tides of the moon just as the cows in pastures do. We are of this Earth.

So, outside of any DNA-based, species specific, or observations based on self awareness, we have societal standards, norms, pressures, etc. to deal with also.

Some people have very strong endocrinological responses to begin with. Couple that with familial pressure to be the first to give Dad a grandson/granddaughter. Then add in societal pressure that Prince Charming hasn't showed up to build you a Better Homes & Gardens villa, knock you up, and be there changing diapers at your side by your 34th birthday. It is women who must deal with the combined forces mentioned above that I have seen go through the worst "biological clock" psycho-dramas. Poor girls! :doh:

Have there been any studies done studies to confirm or disprove that it is in fact a biological clock and not some sort of socio-cultural clock?

Yes, but all the researchers got knocked up and couldn't finish the study. :newwink:
 

Forever_Jung

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Only a third???

It blew my mind a little that if you carry a daughter you are also carrying your grandchildren. Meaning women are born with all our eggs, they get made while we're getting made in the womb. Deep.

whoa
 

lets eat pie

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I'm referring to this idea that a woman's eggs run out at a certain point and as she begins to approach this point she feels an overwhelming desire to reproduce.

There is really no point in a woman's life where she will 'run out of eggs.' Women have a looot of eggs. Even with menstruation and natural decay, she has more than enough eggs (even when reaching menopause) to last a lifetime.

It is better to have a baby when you're younger (biologically at least)

Yes, it is generally better for both mother and baby to birth when the mother is younger and generally healthier than she would be at a later age. The same goes for the baby, who would have a greater chance of being born healthy, as younger eggs are healthier. So it is more a matter of quality over quantity of eggs.

Though I wonder if epigenetics has any hand in what gets passed down to the baby if the mother conceives earlier/later?

It blew my mind a little that if you carry a daughter you are also carrying your grandchildren. Meaning women are born with all our eggs, they get made while we're getting made in the womb. Deep.

Wow. :shock:
 

lets eat pie

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Would it make any difference? Maybe I don't fully understand how epigenetics works. :huh:

I was thinking that maybe a woman radically changes her lifestyle later in life. What genes would be turned on/off because of this lifestyle change and would they be passed on to the child if the baby is conceived before or after the mother's lifestyle change?
 
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