Does having children shorten the lifespan of women? What does medical science say?

From carrying a child in the womb to giving birth to it, a woman has to face many physical and mental challenges. But even today this topic is not talked about openly. Pregnancy and its associated changes and pain have always been associated with women’s perfection and happiness. So that women can be encouraged to have more children.

Effect of pregnancy on women’s health

Scientists from America’s Northwestern University and Washington University have done an interesting research, in which they found that women who have more children age faster. This research was done on hundreds of girls from the Philippines, who were only 20 to 22 years old. Scientists looked at two specific “cellular markers” that indicate the body’s age: telomere length and epigenetic age. Both of these show how “old” the body is getting from inside.

What did you find out?

In women who had had more pregnancies, their cells appeared to be 0.5 to 2 years “older” than their actual age. This means that if you become pregnant more often, the body may age a little faster from inside. But the most surprising thing was that the cells of the women who were pregnant at that time, on the contrary, looked “much younger”.

What is the effect of age?

Scientists believe that many changes occur in the body during pregnancy, especially in the immune system. This can make the cells look young for some time, but in the long run, repeated pregnancies can put more stress on the body.

Why is this research important?

It was already seen in history and old studies that having too many children increases the risk of certain diseases in women. Now scientists want to understand whether this is due to changes occurring in the cell. This study tells us that pregnancy is a big task for the body, and understanding it is very important for better health of women.