Women who have their first child in their 30s live longer, studies show

There has long been a looming pressure on women to bear children before their 30th birthday. Science teaches that women reach peak fertility in their early to mid-20s — which for many, translates as the best time to conceive.

But what we know about child birth is beginning to change, thanks to new research published in the Journal of Public Health. Researchers at Coimbra University in Portugal have shown that women who give birth to their first child in their 30s enjoy a longer life span.

The study measures the life expectancy of women aged 65 based on three factors: the average age of women at the birth of their first child, the average age at their collective pregnancies and percentage of teen mothers. The analytical data was pulled from women in EU countries with an average age of 28 from 2004 to 2013.

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“The study finds that on average women who have their first child later, have a longer life expectancy,” lead author Aida Isabel Tavares, invited assistant professor of economics at the University of Coimbra, told Global News. “So it may be deduced that on average women who have their first child in their 30s will expect to live longer than those that have their first child by their 20s.”

Subsequently, the research reveals showed that teenage mothers have a shorter life span.

This follows a study that was published in January in the American Journal of Public Health that found women who had children later (over the age of 25) were 11 per cent more likely to live into their 90s. Lead study author Aladdin H. Shadyab, a postdoctoral fellow in epidemiology at the University of California San Diego, says there’s a linear relationship.

“The older these women were [at the time of giving birth to their first child], the more likely they were to live to 90,” Shadyab says. “So, a 31-year-old was more likely to live longer than a 30-year-old and so forth.”

While neither study could give a definitive answer to why this is, scientists do have some theories.

“A lot of researchers believe that women who are able to have a child at an older age are just generally healthier,” Shadyab says. “Because being older at childbirth can lead to complications for both the mother and child, those who do it and survive are likely more healthy.”

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Higher social status might also be a contributing factor.

“We know a lot of the time women are delaying having kids because they’re finishing school and starting their careers, and generally more educated people of higher income live longer,” he says.

In addition, a healthy reproductive system that allows women to conceive into their 30s is an indication that they may go into menopause later, which is also linked to longevity, he says.

“It is important to find the optimal age of parity and then make it compatible with mothers’ and fathers’ professional lives to help promote and increase the birthrate, as well as continue to prevent teenage pregnancy,” Tavares says. “Additionally, this may be correlated with infant mortality and may be relevant to decrease [those numbers].”

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