Early motherhood may shorten a woman's life
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.WOMEN WHO start a family early in life tend to die younger, a study of childbirth and longevity has revealed.
A trawl through thousands of church records in Finland dating to the 17th and 18th centuries has found a correlation between the age at which a woman had her first child, the number of children she had, and the age at which she died.
The scientists behind the study - one of the biggest on pre-industrial society - believe the findings indicate that women who delay starting a family and have fewer children may have a natural tendency to live longer than women who become mothers at a young age.
Jenni Pettay and colleagues at Turku University investigated four generations of Finns who lived before the industrial revolution and modern contraception. They analysed several traits - such as age at childbirth and longevity - with a statistical method normally used for wild animal populations.
In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers wrote: "We found strong ... correlations ... suggesting reduced life spans in females who either started to breed relatively early or who then bred frequently."
No trade-off in longevity was found for fatherhood.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments