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 While the risk of having a premature baby was stronger for both teen
mothers and women 35 and older, the adolescents were also more
likely than 20-somethings to have toddlers with stunted growth and
children who become high school dropouts, the study found.
“Having an older mother seems to be good for child development as
long as that older mother is well-resourced and does not have a
large number of children to look after,” lead study author Caroline
Fall, a researcher at the University of Southampton in the UK, said
by email.
Fall and colleagues examined outcomes based on maternal age for
19,403 babies born in five low- and middle-income countries: Brazil,
Guatemala, India, the Philippines and South Africa.
Data from each country were collected at various times between 1969
and 1989 using slightly different methods, but all participants had
records for maternal age and some outcomes for most children at
least through age two.
Mothers in the study were on average around 26 years old. Women in
Brazil were the youngest, typically 25.8 years old, while women in
Guatemala were the oldest at 27.2.
Children of mothers 19 and younger had a 20 to 30 percent increased
risk of low birth weight and premature delivery, the study found.
These kids also had 30 to 40 percent greater odds of having stunted
growth at age two and failing to complete secondary school.
Researchers also assessed mothers’ socioeconomic status based on
education level, marital status, wealth, ethnicity and urban or
rural residence. After adjusting for these factors, the advantages
of older motherhood persisted.
One limitation of the study is that it lacked data on genetics,
smoking and diet for the mothers, and feeding other than breast milk
for the infants and children, the researchers acknowledge in The
Lancet Global Health.
Worldwide last year, one in 20 babies was born to a mother aged 15
to 19, with even higher rates of teen parenthood in sub-Saharan
Africa, Dr. Haroon Saloojee and Dr. Hoosen Coovadia, researchers at
the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, note in an
editorial accompanying the study.
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Globally, there is less data on older women, but they note that in
the U.S., first-time birth rates for women aged 35 to 39 increased
nine-fold from the 1970s to 2012, currently accounting for about one
in 100 first babies.
It’s possible that older mothers have a better understanding of
which factors can promote healthy growth and development of their
children, Coovadia said by email.
For many women, though, the ability to plan pregnancy for an ideal
time may depend on factors not entirely in their control, Coovadia
noted.
“A range of environmental determinants of a woman’s health,
education, autonomy, employment, etc. can be controlled if society
is engineered to provide the socioeconomic protections women need
for realizing their potential for a safe pregnancy and delivery and
a suitable setting for their growing babies and children,” Coovadia
said.
Out of all these factors, education is probably the most important,
he added. Women who aren’t able to control these variables, however,
can still do a lot to improve outcomes for their children.
“Disadvantaged mothers can achieve much to help their offspring
attain their potential through good nutrition, including
breastfeeding – if possible for more than a year – and maintenance
of good health and immunizations, and close attention to things that
stimulate their children.”
The study was funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation, but the researchers note that these organizations
had no involvement in the design, analysis or publication of the
study.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1MPz9Nu The Lancet Global Health, online May
18, 2015.
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