Older mothers live longer

In a recent study, researchers found a correlation between pregnant women who naturally later in life and life expectancy. In other words, older mothers tend to live longer.

The authors of the new study - which was published this week in the journal "Menopause" - say that the relationship is not causal, but suggests that the same genes that enable a woman to become pregnant later in life (without fertility drugs) can slow down the aging process and avoid diseases.

"Natural ability to have children at an older age is likely to show that the woman's reproductive system is aging slowly, and so the rest of her body," explains Dr. Thomas Perls, a professor at the School of Medicine of the University of Boston.

Perls and other researchers reached their conclusions after studying the data of 551 families. They found that women who had borne children after age 33 years were likely to live longer than mothers who had their child born last year before the age of 30, reports Koha.net. A woman who was born after 40-year age were four times more likely to reach the age of 100- year that most new mothers.

"Of course this does not mean that women should expect to have children at older ages in order to improve their chances of living longer," Perls explained.