Hello!

10 Comments

Women having children age MORE than smoking and obesity.

Having children ages women’s DNA by 11 years, new research suggests.

Giving birth shortens women’s telomeres by around 4.2 per cent, a study found according to Daily Mail.

Study author Dr Anna Pollack from George Mason University, Virginia, said: ‘We were surprised to find such a striking result. It is equivalent to around 11 years of accelerated cellular ageing.’

Researchers believe this may be due to the stress of raising children, particularly in countries without mandatory maternity leave, such as the US.

They stress, however, more research into the link between motherhood and genetic ageing is required, with Dr Pollack adding: ‘We’re not saying “don’t have children”.

This totally contradicts a Swedish study that found people with kids had a slightly longer life expectancy (2 years for men and 1.5 years for women), and that after age 80, this longer life expectancy remained (nine months longer for men and seven months longer for women with kids).  Read more HERE.

Share your comments below.

We may get commissions for purchases made using links in this post. Learn more.
  • Whatever… LOL There are pluses and minuses…..but for me the pluses outweigh any of the negatives.

    Reply

  • All research in this area is hypothetical. Many women lived long lives after having more than 4 children while others died in childbirth. It’s just the luck of the draw people.

    Reply

  • Yes, I noticed the reports contradicted themselves too. I think constantly minding other peoples’ children ages you too. They don’t have to be yours to age you. I find it tiring minding a very stubborn 10 year old. The 5 year old is easier to mind. The 2 y.o not so much as she is still at the exploring stage and testing the boundaries. I do have to watch her more than I do the 5 y.o.

    Reply

  • Well, thank for that Captain Obvious! Lol. I’m sure ANY mum could’ve told you that without all the time, effort and money spent on that research.

    Reply

  • Lol I’m not surprised! One thing I don’t understand is why the men are supposed to not live as long as women- we’re usually the ones doing all the work!

    Reply

  • This made me laugh. Of course it ages you. My husband had hair, now he has very little and we’re both grey. The stress of parenting ages you, absolutely.

    Reply

  • I don’t know what to believe with all these ‘studies’ anymore.

    Reply

  • Strange, as the life expectancy of women is still higher then the life expectancy of men !

    Reply

  • Hopefully this study is inaccurate as like all mums I don’t want to miss milestones of my children’s lives; however if it was the case I am grateful to have been blessed to be a mum.

    Reply

  • Quite contradicting all these results.

    Reply

Post a comment
Add a photo
Your MoM account


Lost your password?

Enter your email and a password below to post your comment and join MoM:

You May Like

Loading…

Looks like this may be blocked by your browser or content filtering.

↥ Back to top

Thanks For Your Star Rating!

Would you like to add a written rating or just a star rating?

Write A Rating Just A Star Rating
Join