Study finds that women who wait till their 30s to become mothers live longer

Researchers in Portugal believe that women who have children in their 30s live longer.

This extended life expectancy seemed to be particularly true if the woman had her first child in her 30s. According to the study performed by the University of Coimbra in Portugal, they found that woman who put off having children until they were at least 30, on average lived longer. Lead researcher Aida Tavares told Harper's Bazaar;

"The study shows that when women have their children later, they tend to live longer. On average, women who had a child at 30 had a life expectancy higher than those [who had a child] at 20."

But why is this? Could it have something to do with better healthcare in the countries where women wait longer to have children? Most women in Ireland and many European countries are now waiting until their 30s before they become mothers, but in countries like Chad, which has one of the world's highest maternal mortality rates, the average age of first time mothers is 18 years of age. Pregnancies at a very young age when the body may not be fully developed can often times lead to health complications. I had my first child when I was 22 and ended up having severe complications because my baby was too big for me to give birth naturally, which led to me requiring an emergency caesarian. It may also be the case that woman who wait until later on in life generally have their work/life balance a little more figured out, meaning less stress. Stress has been found to be a contributing factor in many health problems including  cardiovascular disease and irritable bowel syndrome. Many woman are often told the negative side about waiting until they are in their 30s to have children so it's very interesting to see another take on leaving it later to become a parent.