A public health expert, Dr. Hameed Adediran, has attributed the rising trend of early menopause among modern women to significant lifestyle changes, particularly a decline in childbirth rates compared to previous generations.
Adediran, who is the Senior Programme Manager and Team Lead of Menstrual Health Initiatives at Population Services International (PSI) Nigeria, made this known on Friday in Lagos during the opening session of a two-day capacity-building workshop for media practitioners and social media influencers.
The workshop, organised by PSI Nigeria, focused on deepening public understanding of menstrual health and bridging the gap between science, storytelling, and social change.
According to Dr. Adediran, biological and reproductive patterns play a key role in determining the age at which women experience menopause.
He explained that a female child is born with approximately 1 to 2 million eggs, but only about 400 of these eggs will ever be released during a woman’s reproductive years.
“Every month a woman menstruates, she loses an egg that could have been fertilised,” he said. “However, during pregnancy, ovulation and menstruation cease naturally for about nine months and may remain paused for another six months due to breastfeeding. That’s approximately 15 months during which eggs are conserved.”
Dr. Adediran pointed out that in earlier generations, especially in many African cultures, it was common for women to have four to six children.
This childbearing pattern, he noted, resulted in several years of paused menstruation, helping to preserve more of their eggs and, by extension, delay menopause.
“If a woman has five children and saves 15 months’ worth of eggs per child, that’s about 75 months—more than six years—of egg preservation. This pattern helped many of our mothers and grandmothers reach menopause much later in life,” he explained.
He further illustrated that if a woman has about 400 viable eggs to be released over her lifetime, and she starts menstruating at age 15, then theoretically, dividing 400 eggs by 12 (months in a year) gives approximately 33.3 years of menstruation. Adding that to age 15 gives an average menopausal age of 48 to 50 years.
“However,” he continued, “in today’s world, many women choose to have one or two children, or sometimes none. This means that menstruation continues uninterrupted, month after month, leading to a quicker depletion of the available egg supply, and ultimately, an earlier onset of menopause.”
Dr. Adediran emphasized that while other factors such as genetics, health conditions, and environmental toxins can also influence menopause, the shift in reproductive patterns due to modernization and urban lifestyles is a key factor contributing to the trend.
He urged the media to play a vital role in sensitizing the public on the biological and social implications of reproductive choices, especially as they relate to menstrual health and long-term wellness.
“This is about understanding the full picture of how modern lifestyles impact women’s health—physically, emotionally, and biologically.”
The workshop featured interactive sessions on demystifying menstrual myths, responsible storytelling, and promoting access to menstrual health products and education.
Participants also discussed strategies to improve public awareness through media advocacy and digital engagement.
