Study: Children of Older Mothers Have Better Outcomes

A rare piece of good news for older moms: children of older mothers were found to suffer fewer accidents and score higher on IQ tests in a recent study. These positive outcomes for children provide a counter-balance to the many studies that warn of more difficult pregnancies for those who delay motherhood.

Researchers at the University of Child Health, University College London and Birkbeck College, London found that children of older mothers received a wealth of benefits. The study looked at over 1,000 children born to women over the age of 40 and compared them to 38,000 children born to younger women. Children of older mothers were less likely to be admitted to the hospital and suffered fewer accidents overall. They were also at a lower risk of obesity. Children of older mothers also exhibited higher IQs, better vocabularies and better identification of shapes and pictures.

Dr. Alastair Sutcliffe, who worked on the study, had a variety of theories as to why children of older moms had better outcomes: "The big question is why. Older mothers appear to have good parenting skills, they may be less impulsive, calmer and have more life experience that better equips them for the role. More women are giving birth at older ages, this isn’t going to go away, they are deferring motherhood for many reasons." The number of women delaying motherhood has increased significantly in recent years, increasing from 15,000 in 2000 to 27,000 in 2010.

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Children of mothers over 40 'are healthier and more intelligent and less likely to have accidents' [DailyMail]