Study Mothers in their thirties usually get smarter kids

Children of mothers in their forties are at an increased risk for obesity
Does the intelligence of children depend on the age when their mother became pregnant? How does the age of the mother affect our children? These questions were answered by British researchers. A large cohort study brought interesting insights. The researchers published the results of their study in the journal "Biodemography and Social Biology".

Women who give birth to their child between the ages of 30 and 40 get smarter children than mothers in their twenties or forties. This was the finding of researchers from the London School of Economics. The scientists found in their study that children of mothers in their thirties achieved the highest cognitive outcomes in their tests.

Mothers in their thirties get the smarter children. (Image: Vitorrio / fotolia.com)

Children of older mothers better in cognitive tests
British researchers had observed in the long-running study about 18,000 children to examine the effects of a mother's age on her child. The researchers found that children of mothers in their thirties performed better in cognitive testing than children of younger mothers and slightly better than children of mothers in their forties. In addition, the study's findings show that children of mothers 40 years of age or older are more susceptible to the development of obesity, the researchers said. The reason for this is that older mothers play much less with their children than children of younger mothers, the British physicians added. The children studied in the study were five years old.

Maturer mothers usually live healthier and plan pregnancy better
Mothers who have their first child in their thirties are probably better educated and have higher incomes. The likelihood is that such mothers will live intact, stable relationships and live healthier lives. These mothers would rather start with the prenatal care and would have planned their pregnancy usually much better, explained the doctor. Alice Goisis told The Times newspaper. In addition, older mothers usually do not smoke, often breastfeed themselves, and read to children more. Goisis added. The researchers explained that although it was a large study, only a few mothers over the age of 40 had participated. Of the subjects, only 53 were over 40 years old. For this reason, further research is needed, the scientists said. The average age of mothers in the UK has increased steadily in recent years. In 1980, the average age for mothers was still 24.5 years. At the present time, the average age of the mothers has risen to 28.1 years, the physicians explained in their study.