Women Who Give Birth Later in Life May Live Longer

New research finds a piece of positivity among the risks for pregnancy after age 35

When I was 33 years old, my doctor reminded me that I should start thinking about having babies soon. But, at that time having kids was not on my priority list. I wasn’t even sure I wanted kids at all, and I felt pressured to make that decision sooner rather than later because of the risks associated with a later-in-life pregnancy.

There are risk factors to consider when getting pregnant after 35. There’s an increased risk of stillbirth, miscarriage, birth defects, infertility, premature birth, or preeclampsia.

Beyond the risks, if a woman gives birth at age 35 or older, it’s called a geriatric pregnancy. Geriatric at 35? That term holds a negative connotation.

Yes, women should be aware of the increased risks of getting pregnant later in life and take precautions, but sometimes the information and terminology can hold a lot of negativity, fear, and pressure.

Now, there’s some good news for the women who have chosen to have children later in life. New research has found that women who give birth to their last child later in life have longer leukocyte telomeres — a longer life expectancy.

What are telomeres?

Telomeres are short sections of DNA that cap the ends of chromosomes. They protect the chromosome from damage, much like a plastic cap on the end of a shoelace.

Leukocyte telomeres correlate positively with lifespan, meaning the longer the leukocyte telomere, the longer the expected life span. A shorter in length leukocyte telomere is associated with an increased risk of age-related disease.

Research findings: Leukocyte telomeres and maternal age

The new research was published in Menopause. The study included 1,232 women from various backgrounds and ethnicities. This diversity positively differed from past research, which only took into account women of a specific ethnic and socioeconomic background.

The researchers in this new study compared the length of leukocyte telomeres of these women to the age they were when they gave birth to their last child. They found that women who were older when giving birth to their last child were likely to have longer leukocyte telomere lengths.

Since a longer leukocyte telomere length correlates to a longer life span, it suggests that women who have a child later in life may have a longer life expectancy.

Which causes which: telomere length or later-in-life pregnancy?

There are still questions to be answered. Does getting pregnant later in life cause a woman’s leukocyte telomeres to lengthen? Or does having longer leukocyte telomeres to begin with make a woman more capable of having children later in life?

“More research is needed to determine whether older maternal age at last birth causes telomeres to lengthen or whether telomere length serves as a proxy for general health and corresponds with a woman’s ability to have a child at a later age,” says Dr. Stephanie Faubion, North American Menopause Society medical director.

I look forward to watching as new research progresses. As a woman who has chosen to wait to have kids, I’m hanging onto this little piece of positivity in the sea of risks, fear, and pressure.

You can find the article titled, “Maternal age at last birth and leukocyte telomere length in a nationally representative population of perimenopausal and postmenopausal women” in Menopause: The Journal of the North American Menopause Society.