Having a Baby After 35 Directly Linked to an Increase in Memory and Brainpower

An American study says that women who have a baby over the age of 35 will have less memory loss and more brain power that those that have children before they are mid-thirties.

The study which was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society gathered 830 willing participants all who were post-menopausal. They went through a vigorous testing regime to collect baseline data on their verbal memory, executive functioning skills, and global cognition.

The participants were questioned on their previous pregnancies, the age they were for their first period, number of pregnancies and other questions to evaluate their mental health.

Dr Roksana Karim, the lead author for the study said “While it is not enough to suggest that women wait until after 35 years of age to close their family growth, our finding of a positive effect of later age at last pregnancy on late-life cognition is novel and substantial”.

The study found that the participants who last pregnancy was after the age of 35 had a better chance at a higher verbal memory. The study also found that those women who had their first period before the age of 13 had a stronger global cognition than those whose period arrive later than 13 years of age. Women in the group had their first child between 15-24 years ole were said to have worse health and cognitive functioning when they reach 40 years old.

“Longer reproductive period and use of oral contraceptives” are directly linked to more brain power later in your life.