Women Who Have Babies In Their 30s Are Likely To Live Longer

Moms.com

By Joanna Mazewski

Published Nov 28, 2018

One of the reasons why scientists believe that women in their thirties outlive other mamas all has to do with telmores.

Credit: iStock / Wavebreakmedia

When it comes to getting pregnant, there’s no magic age that is supposed to be better than the others. As a matter of fact, some women do very well with their pregnancies in their twenties while others feel much more confident – and financially secure – waiting to start motherhood in their forties. But according to a new report, having babies in your thirties might be the most beneficial. That’s because women who get pregnant during this decade are more likely to live longer. Here’s why.

According to Long Life Family Study, new research says that mothers who gave birth after the age of 33 were twice as likely to live longer than women who has their babies earlier. One of the reasons why scientists believe that women in their thirties outlive other mamas all has to do with telmores. It’s parts of the cells that affect how we age.

For those not in the know (and that includes the good majority of us), telomeres acts like tiny plastic caps to protect the chromosomes at the end of each DNS strand as they get shorter. The study found that women who gave birth in their thirties had higher odds of having longer telomeres.

This means that having a late pregnancy won’t increase your lifespan, although women who are able to reproduce in their forties probably have the genetics that allow them to live longer.

"These findings suggest a potential genetic basis for the relationship between reproductive life-span, longevity, and an underlying mechanism related to biological ageing," explained Dr. Nicole Schupf at Columbia University Medical Center.

Of course, there are also other factors that contribute to longer lifespans. They include income, occupation, family size, and personal relationships. There are plenty of reasons why some women decide to have children earlier in their lives while others wait until the time is right for them. But when it comes to science, the odds are either with you or against you.

So, does this mean that moms should wait until their thirties to start their families? Not necessarily. As many women already know, no two bodies function the same way. The best thing that women and moms can do is listen to their bodies, especially when it comes to getting pregnant. Listening to your own intuition might benefit new moms the most in the long run.