People rarely talk about the benefits of having children after 35. Instead, we often hear only about the concerns about getting pregnant later in life. This makes sense to a certain extent, because knowing that we have a biological clock can be really scary. And it’s true that as people get older, the number of eggs they have in their ovaries decreases. Pregnancy after 35 also carries a risk of certain complications, such as high blood pressure or diabetes for you, and chromosomal abnormalities, such as Down syndrome, for your baby.
However, having children after 35 also has a number of compelling benefits. In fact, even if it’s not the right time to get pregnant, delaying parenthood has many benefits.
Possible benefits of having children after 35
There is no right age to have children—and it’s always a good idea to talk to your healthcare provider about your family planning plans to make sure you’re aware of any health issues you need to consider. The good news, however, is that more and more research is showing that being an older parent has amazing benefits for both parent and child.
Having a baby after 35 may boost your brain power
Studies show that having children later in life can make you mentally sharper as you get older. A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society tested 830 middle-aged women to see if there was a link between having children later in life and brain performance.
Researchers found that those who had their last child after age 35 had stronger cognition and verbal memory after menopause. They also found that people who had their first child after age 24 were better at problem-solving than their peers who had younger children.
You will likely be happier and less stressed.
Research shows that older parents experience less stress and greater satisfaction and happiness after the birth of their children than their younger counterparts. In fact, according to the authors of a 2017 review: “Existing studies suggest that happiness increases around and after childbirth in older mothers, whereas this effect is absent or short-lived in younger mothers.”
Your child may be at lower risk of injury.
Parents of all ages aim to protect their children as much as they can. However, several studies have shown that the risk of an unintended injury to a child requiring medical attention decreases as the mother ages, perhaps because older parents are more aware of the risks and/or better equipped to protect against them.
Specifically, one study, published in the British Medical Journal in 2012, found that by age 3, the risk of unintentional injury to a child dropped from 36.6 percent for mothers in their 20s to 28.6 percent for mothers in their 40s. Another recent study conducted in Japan examined the risks of unintentional injuries and hospitalization by age at 6 months and hospitalization at 6 months.
“Although the exact causes of underreported injuries are not well understood, it is clear that one of the health benefits of giving birth to an older mother is the reduced chance of her suffering an unwanted injury,” says Patricia Salber, MD, founder and editor of The Doctor Weighs In.
You can be more emotionally prepared.
There’s an undeniable sense of maturity that comes with age. (Just think how much you’ve changed since you were a teenager!) Research shows that puberty also plays a role in better parenting.
In a 2017 study published in the European Journal of Development, Dutch researchers examined the psychosocial development of two groups of children aged 7, 11, and 15. One group was born to mothers over 31 years old, and the other group was born to mothers under 31. When analyzing their psychosocial development, they were more likely to be surprised by their older physical development. Children
“In general, children of older mothers were better behaved, more social, and more emotionally healthy in pre-adolescence,” says Dr. Salber. “In other words, the more relaxed parenting behaviors of older mothers seem to have paid off for these young people.”
It is likely that your child will do well in technology and academics.
The longer you wait to have children, the more likely your child will grow up with more advanced levels of technology.
“Children of older parents benefit from educational, technological, and social advances that have occurred during the years of delayed childbearing,” says Camille Phillips, MD, an obstetrician-gynecologist in New York City. The Swedish study noted that when these improvements are taken into account, children of older parents tend to be healthier and better educated.
You can be more financially stable and healthier.
Countless studies support the theory that health outcomes are often linked to the amount of money in the bank. If you have extra years without children, you are more likely to finish your education and have time to develop your career. So it makes sense that you would earn more than younger parents who had children before starting their own business.
“Studies show that children of older mothers stay in the education system longer, perform better on standardized tests, and are more likely to go to college than their peers born to younger mothers,” says Dr. Salber. “The impact of improved outcomes related to socioeconomic status is likely to influence children’s health outcomes throughout their lives.”
You may even live longer.
Having kids later may help you live longer. “Some people think that having kids later either means you won’t have the energy to keep up with younger kids or, worse, that you won’t be around for their major life events, like getting married or having kids,” says Dr. Salber. But research shows that couldn’t be further from the truth.
In fact, a 2015 study published in Menopause found that women who have children after age 33 are twice as likely to live to 95 than women who had their last child before age 30.
