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Good news for women who are worried aboutwaiting until after age 30 to become moms: It might have a positive effect on your future child’s intelligence level.
According to a recently resurfaced set of data from the journalBiodemography and Social Biology, kids born to mothers who were 30 to 39 years old when they gave birth generally scored higher on cognitive tests at age 5 when compared to their counterparts — children born to moms who were 23 to 29 years old.
As researcher Alice Goisis said, according to U.K. outletThe Times, “First-time mothers in their 30s are, for example, likely to be more educated, have higher incomes, are more likely to be in stable relationships, have healthier lifestyles, seek prenatal care earlier and have planned their pregnancies.”
Mom reading with child.Getty
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Interestingly, researchers did not observe the same effect for children born to women over 40 — meaning there was seemingly no higher cognitive ability in kids with mothers who were older than 40 when they gave birth.
However, they did see a rise in prevalence of obesity in children from this age group of moms, potentially tied to findings showing moms over age 40 were less likelyto engage in physical play withtheir kids.
It’s important to note that only 53 moms were included in the 40-or-older portion of the study, though, according toThe Independent.
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According toThe Independent, women who become moms at a later ageare more likely to breastfeedand read to their kids, while the chance that they are smokers is lower than that of younger moms.
The average age of first-time moms in the United States is 26,The New York Timesreported in August — a jump of five years since 1972. For dads, that number rose from 27 to 31 since 1972.
source: people.com
