Delaying motherhood is GOOD for your health
PUTTING off having kids can leave you with better health aged 40.
Mother's who have children after 25 are healthier aged 40, finds study
Women’s health in middle age is linked to the age they were when they first gave birth AND whether they had the baby out of wedlock, a study has revealed.
Research found that women who have their first child in their early adulthood or teens didn’t report better health in their midlife, but those aged 25-35, when they first gave birth, reported better health when they reached 40 years-old.
The study also breaks another assumption - that women who have baby outside of out of wedlock are less healthy than those who don’t.
Young mothers have worse health when they get older
The study also breaks another assumption - that women who have baby outside of out of wedlock are less healthy than those who don’t.
Single black women who had a child or children and got married AFTERWARDS had worse health than those who had just stayed single, say the researchers.
They couldn’t exactly pin point why, but advised that other research suggests that black single mothers face a lack of eligible men and are likely to marry someone with no secondary education and bad economic and career prospects.
The study looked at almost 3,500 women.
Woman gives birth on airplane
Dr Kristi Williams, study co-author and an associate professor of sociology at The Ohio State University said: “This can lead to stress and conflict in marriage, which can result in poorer health for the women as they age.”
The study looked at almost 3,500 women. All of them had given birth between the ages of 15 and 35 and had to rate their health, aged 40, on a scale of poor to excellent.
With many young mothers still giving birth before the age of 25, the authors believe this study highlights a particularly concern.
The study highlights the need to support young mothers
Dr Williams added: "We've had all this focus on the bad effects of teen childbearing and never really asked what happens if these teens waited to early adulthood.