The number of women who postpone having children until their late 30s or 40s has increased significantly in the last twenty years.
The latest study revealed benefits of becoming a mother later in life.
Kids of Older Mothers Are Better Off — They Are Healthier, Taller, Better Educated
Researchers Kieron Barclay (the London School of Economics) and Mikko Myrskyla (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research) found that children of older mothers are healthier, taller and better educated, Science Daily reports.
The researchers analysed the data of more than 1 million people from Sweden born between 1960 and 1991 comparing their physical condition, height, and educational level. It turned out that Swedes born from mothers in their 40s were healthier and better educated.
The main reason for this is most likely in the better social conditions that children of older mothers enjoyed. Thus kids born in 1970 when a mother was 20 years old are likely to be shorter and less educated than the children born in 1990 when they same woman turned 40 years old.
A 10-year gap between kids is accompanied by a decade of social advancements as well as giant improvements in the medical field.
Siblings born in the same family at significantly different ages demonstrated that an older maternal age was an advantage, not a drawback as was previously believed.
Parents in their 40s tend to be more confident in life and know what they want. Most of them have achieved their professional goals, travelled enough and are ready to settle down to raise a family. They are emotionally mature and able to make better decisions. That is why older mothers are more focused on their babies and family life. They have better opportunities for establishing good living conditions for children and provide them with a quality education. Consequently, children of emotionally and financially mature mums are more confident and show better results at school.
Thus, the study findings show that the later you have children, the more opportunities they have.
Besides, women in their late 30s and 40s are in generally healthier today than decades before. Fitness and good general health assist in bearing a healthy infant.
Scientists believe that benefits of delaying pregnancy are more significant than its disadvantages.
Medicare and social situation changed for the better in many countries and most likely will be continuously improving. The scientists state that children that are born later will have better social and educational conditions than those born today.
On average kids of the same mother born with a 10-year gap demonstrated that the older child studied a year longer.
While previously it was thought that children of older mothers had a higher chance of developing birth defects and therefore would be at a disadvantage, this new study demonstrates that in the 21 century the benefits of having a more mature parent outweigh the drawbacks. Even health-wise, kids of older mothers are doing better than the ones born by young women.
Read also:
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- What Russian Women Think about Marriage, Family, and Kids
- I Want to Get Married — Why Is It A Problem?
- The Best Age to Meet The Russian Woman of Your Dreams
I’m not sure, that there is a connection between mother’s age and health of a child. If mother does not have bad habits, for example, smoking, or even worse, her kid simply cannot be healthy. And I’ve seen very young mother, she cared about her kid better, then I’ve ever seen.
I agree with Anna. What a nonsense, that child of older mother is better than the younger mother’s one! I can’t imagine that results of research presented in article is veridical. I am 24 years old and I have a wonderful healthy baby. And my sister, who is 30, can’t get pregnant.
I am completely convinced that a mother’s age is directly connected with a child’s health condition and his general development. There are so many cases when “old mothers” give a birth to a child and her offspring roughly differs from those born by younger women. I mean the difference in behavior, in attitude to surrounding world, in grasping the new. I do believe that they adopt their parent’s practices subconsciously. A woman in her 35 is rather more developed, educated, experienced and the most important – she is confident enough in her wish to become a mother.
I don’t like the tendency to give birth early. 16 years old moms make me panic. You should enjoy your life before making family then your children will be happy and healthy.
My mother’s given me birth when she was thirty-one. Our family is happy and it’s the most important thing ever.
If you have good health and genes, you can get a healthy child even in your forties. If your health is weak when you are twenty, with years it will be more difficult to get a strong and healthy child. Generally, our nature speaks for us. All other factors such as healthy way of life, sport and good food have secondary influence.
Obviously women who have made their careers can afford better education for their children. But I wonder how can the economist and the demographer estimate people’s health. Doctors and geneticists always state high risks of having a baby after 30. And I know a lot of examples when a woman give birth to a healthy child being in her early twenties but produce a baby with severe defects in her forties. Probably a very healthy woman with good genes can deliver a healthy child even in her late forties. But others can only try to control the process by means… Read more »
These views are so obsolete, but quite a true depiction of the Russian propaganda aimed to make women give birth to the first child before the age of 25 and have at least 3 kids in the family. If giving birth young and have many kids was a good thing, African nations would rule the world. In reality, in richer countries women give birth to healthier babies later in life. It’s statistics and not a propaganda.
I didn’t mean to propagandize anything. I’m just a “late child” myself. I was born with defects of my health. So it’s my life story. Not a propaganda. But I gave birth to two healthy children when I was very young. Doesn’t matter what Russian or any else government thinks.
I appreciate that you have a personal view. But kids of young mothers are not guaranteed against health issues either. I had “health problems” as a child, going to health resorts for treatments yearly, tests done every 6 months etc, even though my mother was 25 when I was born. But now I am healthy. On average statistically, however, children of mature mothers are healthier, and this was the finding of this research. So, while people are used to believing that kids will be less healthy if women give birth later in life, it’s the opposite: even kids of the… Read more »
I’m a little bit confused after reading this, because every woman knows that it’s better to give birth to a child as soon as possible. Our environment is not in good condition and it’s going worse and worse. I don’t speak about the bed habits. That’s why I agree with opinion that it’s better not to delay with children.
You mean, “bad habits“, not “bed habits”, right? 🙂
About childbirth, no, actually, research shows that children of older mothers are healthier and better educated. So, giving birth young doesn’t bring any benefits to your children later in life, quite the opposite.
In my opinion the best time to have a child is about 30. Of course it’s a great happiness but a great responsibility too, so you need to understand that you are ready for it. But sometimes there are women who are too fixated on career and they don’t have time for the family which is sadly enough.
I gave the birth to my son when I was nineteen and my daughter was born when I was 32. There is no difference in their health or their mental abilities. I think the most important is mother’s good health and genes. But I agree that the older mothers are more focused on their babies and family life.
I think that it is not good idea to have a child in forty, because the people getting old and cannot give so much to their kid. I think good age is 25- 35 not more. But really I have some friends whose parents bore them in 40 and they are very clever. And about healthy child I think if the parents have no any problems with health and have no bad habits of course the child will be also healthy.