Early times

Early marriage, early childbirth and early death. Big families, but many babies lost to illness, or poor feeding. A person was lucky to see their grandchildren in early times.

On the other hand, babies were born from healthy young eggs, not the last few from mothers nearing forty, as may happen now, when couples just can't afford them earlier. And most children born survive today.

Perhaps there should be something like the DPB for ALL mothers, married or single. But the government couldn't afford that.

People talk about a "golden age when the world was young". But it was the population that were young. The "wisdom of age" was probably just the maturity of folks who managed to reach thirty five or so, when so many died in, or before, their twenties, a few thousand years ago.

(An answer to a post on nz.general)