~ WHAT IS THE BEST AGE TO HAVE A BABY ? ~

[HOUDA-K]

By Beth Hale

What is the best age for a woman to give birth? According to sociologists the answer is 34.

While her biological clock may be ticking, a mother of that age will enjoy far better long-term health than a woman who gives birth at 18.

The news will come as a relief to those who decided to concentrate on their career before having a family.

Friends actress Lisa Kudrow and singer Cerys Matthews both embarked on motherhood for the first time at 34.

And at 70, Sophia Loren - who had her first son when she was 34 - receives as much praise for her health and beauty as she did as a young screen siren.

According to research in the US the health benefits of delaying motherhood increase year by year, with the best years for women to start bearing children being between the ages of 27 and 34.

Women who wait actually enjoy better health, live longer and end up having healthier babies.

Academics looked at the link between the health problems of around 3,000 women and their age when giving birth for the first time.

Women who first gave birth at an early age developed more health problems, while women who delayed birth until 34 had fewer problems.

Health benefits first started at 22 and continued to rise until 34. But problems began to increase again at 35.

"A woman who had her first child at 34 is likely to be, in health terms, 14 years younger than a woman who gave birth at 18," said Professor John Mirowsky, who led the research for the National Institute of Ageing and the National Institute of Mental Health.

While women aged 20 or 21 are more fertile and biologically fit, older mothers tend to be more mature and engage in less risky behaviour, and are more settled educationally, financially and emotionally, he said.

"Problems drop steadily the longer that first birth was delayed, up to about 34, then rise increasingly and steeply, particularly after the age of about 40," he said.

The professor told the Journal of Health and Social Behaviour: "Studies suggest that early motherhood interferes with educational attainment and predisposes women to single-parenthood, unemployment and poverty.

"All of those are well-documented and substantial socio-economic predictors of poor health and multiplied risk of death."

The average age for giving birth in the UK has risen from 27 to almost 30 in two decades.

Figures released by the Office of National Statistics in December revealed that more career women are delaying childbirth than ever before. The 30 to 34 age group is marginally behind the 25 to 29 age group as the most popular time to give birth.

But fertility experts point to difficulties faced by women waiting longer to give birth. Cecilia Pyper, senior research fellow for the Department of Public Health at Oxford University, said: "Women who want a family should not be targeting the age of 34 for the first time to get pregnant."

[Abdu23]

25 to 29

Did not read the full article, but according to my chinese friend (who seems to be in the business) chinese people say it's arround 27

The news will come as a relief to those who decided to concentrate on their career before having a family.

Maybe

[HOUDA-K]

Salam khoya,

I didn't expect a response so suddenly.

I don't think it matters that much really, there are pros and cons to every age.

There is also lots of conflicting research suggesting the best age is anywhere between 21 and 35 depending on what you read.

I would imagine that speaking in terms of finances and maturity, mum's in their thirties are often in a better position. But as far as biology goes, women over 35 see a dramatic dip in their fertility and are at a much higher risk of miscariage and foetal abnormalities, that's been proven over and over again. It leads me to think that nature intended us to have babies younger than we do. I'm surprised that despite women living longer and having better information on health and diet, the age fertility begins to drop hasn't changed at all over the years.

I'm not surprised the least healthy group are young teens though. I think environmental factors come into play. Young teens often have poor diet's, and statistically more teenage mother's smoke than older mother's, both of which much contribute to overall health.

[flower22]

My grandmother has had 10 kids Allah y'barrek starting from the age of 16
and she is doing well elhamdoulilah at the age of 85 today..
Allah y tewel homerha

[Damya]

Originally posted by flower22
My grandmother has had 10 kids Allah y'barrek starting from the age of 16
and she is doing well elhamdoulilah at the age of 85 today..
Allah y tewel homerha

Hi Flower, allah ybarak for your grandmother, same for my mother (10 kids) she got married at 12 and got her first baby at 15 (thing we can't imagine nowdays)
Damya

PS : I know that the age of marriage for woman in Algeria is 28 (official database from last year)

[Abdu23]

Originally posted by Damya

Hi damya Just wanted to Say Hi and Bye

[Damya]

Originally posted by Abdu23

Originally posted by Damya

Hi damya Just wanted to Say Hi and Bye

HI abdou thanks,
bye