
“I like the term ‘expecting’. It’s like we’re expecting a child, but it could just as well be a velociraptor.”
BEACON TRANSCRIPT – Following a recent study that showed the national average birth age increased from 26 to 26.3, a different group of researchers wanted to find out when it’s best for the female body to produce a pregnancy. So, after their tests, it resulted that it’s better for you to give birth after 24.
The results of the study were published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior by Kristi Williams, associate professor of sociology at the Ohio State University.
The study was a meta-analysis, meaning that it was performed by analyzing the results of a different study, and collecting the necessary data from there.
In this case, the researchers focused on a sample of 3,348 women who gave birth for the first time at ages between 15 and 35. The initial study followed the women from 1979 to 2008, and once each of them turned 40 they were asked a series of questions related to their overall health levels.
The researchers led by the associate professor then divided the women into three different age categories, from 15 to 19, from 20 to 24, and from 25 to 35.
The results were quite interesting, although not at all surprising.
According to the data collected, the women in the 25 to 35 age group showed the least amount of post-natal health issues, with the obligatory exceptions, of course.
What the researchers did find surprising, however, was that there were no remarkable health differences between the first and second groups.
The study went on, attempting to find some ethnic differences in their results, but they were pretty much unsuccessful.
However, when moving forward with the results of the old study, and analyzing the mothers’ marital status, the scientists did manage to come up with some important distinctions.
First of all, single black mothers that remained single after having their first child reported far fewer health problems than those who got remarried.
However, when compared to mothers that were married when having their first child, all other groups showed poorer health.
This led the researchers to believe that something else might have been affecting the results, and not the marital status of the women.
Stress caused by single motherhood, or by attempting to find a partner after already having a child might have led the women to experience more health issues.
Image source: Pixabay