WOMEN’S BODIES: OTHER EFFECTS OF OUR REPRODUCTIVE HORMONES
We’ve seen how ovarian hormones affect women’s development during puberty, and how important they are in our reproductive lives.
Ovarian hormones also have other effects on our lives and health. For instance, oestrogen is important in maintaining strong, healthy bones, helps to retain moisture in the skin, and protects women from some heart and blood-vessel disorders; progesterone increases appetite, raises body temperature and influences the kidney to retain salt and water in the body.
Hormones and behaviour
It’s believed that before we’re born our brains are primed by reproductive hormones for ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’ behaviours after we’re born. In childhood play, boys in general have more physical activity than girls, while girls choose more parenting rehearsal (such as playing house and with dolls) and pay more attention to their physical appearance. These patterns continue into adult life, but we can’t overlook the importance of childhood learning about gender identity and gender role – how we are reared as girls or boys -in influencing these behaviours.
The effects of hormones on mood
There seems no doubt that hormones, especially sex hormones, influence mood, but because so many other things can also affect our moods, it’s hard to know just how important hormones are. There must be few women who’ve never experienced mood changes during the menstrual cycle that can’t be explained by anything else that’s happened to them, and the onset of low spirits several days after a baby is born is clearly related to a sudden drop in hormones at this time. Most likely the effect of hormones on the mind contributes to mood swings in adolescence and mood disturbances around the menopause.
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Tags: Women’s Health
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