But according to a study from just this year, this delay in the age to conceive could be beneficial to women, even on a biological level.
- Related article: “How to increase your fertility with these 14 simple habits”.
What is the best age to have children?
The fertility of both men and women decreases progressively with age, so it might seem that the best age to have children would be at an early age. It is for this very reason that it seems logical, and this is what doctors advise, women should not get pregnant beyond the age of 35..
The same applies to men, whose sperm quality decreases significantly after that age, and several studies have shown that the chances of the baby being born with problems also increase.
Despite the logic of the biological clock and health warnings, in our society, the age of childbearing is increasingly delayed. the age at which the first child is born is increasingly delayed.. According to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the average age for having a first child was 32 years in our country last year.
But does it look as bad as it seems? According to a study published in the Journal of Public Health, women who have had their first child at the age of 30 have a longer life expectancy than those who have had their first child at 20, so that would be the best age to have children.
Revelations of the study
This study analyzed the correlation between different data related to childbearing from different European Union countries over nine years. These were the average age of women when they had their first child, the average age at childbirth, the number of teenage mothers and their life expectancy.
The results showed that women who had their first child at an older age had a higher life expectancy, suggesting that currently the ideal age for having children is around 30 years old.
Currently the ideal age to have children is around 30.
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In another research of the same type carried out in 2014, they were able to prove in the same way that women who had their children after 33 were longer-lived than those who had their children before 30. Similarly, they found that women who had had them at 40 were more likely to reach 100 years of age.
What would explain this?
In both studies, environmental and sociological variables have a great influence on these results, so it is difficult to determine a precise age for having a first child without taking into account the social context. a precise age for having a first child without taking into account the social context.. Various factors such as social status and lifestyle are also determinants and would explain these results.
What is certain is that pregnancies at early ages do not seem to fit with the lifestyle of our current societies. Having a child before the age of 20, which might seem the ideal age biologically speaking, is more likely to interrupt or hinder educational attainment or promising careers, and is more likely to result in disadvantage.
Women in their twenties today are still progressing in their careers and most have not achieved sufficient stability that would allow them to worry about raising a child. The different types of relationships that exist today and the delay in stabilizing with a partner also contribute to the delay in the age at which they feel sufficiently secure. delaying the age at which they feel secure enough to have a child..
- Related article: “This is the best age to get married, according to science”.
Therefore, having a child before 30 today seems to add worry and stress to already unstable situations, which can easily lead to health problems or financial difficulties. At that age, on the other hand, women have already been able to achieve career goals and may be in a sufficiently stable financial situation to consider having a first child.
At this age, a woman has already been able to achieve career goals and may be in a stable financial situation.
Source:
Pexels
Towards late motherhood
Thus, the best age to have children according to our biological clock our biological clock is clearly in discordance with the best age to have children with what is the best age sociologically speaking. Or at least it was until now.
Another hypothesis that researchers are considering is the existence of a gene related to that of longevity, which would make reproduction possible at later ages, so that the ideal biological age at which to have a child could be could be delayed in the same way.
Likewise, technological advances in the field of reproduction allow us to overcome the different biological barriers, which make possible healthy and problem-free pregnancies at ages where it seemed impossible before.
So, can we stop worrying about our biological clock and choose to pursue our life aspirations without fear of it being too late? Everything points to the fact that it is possible.