Children born to older women have a better start in life

The authors said older mothers tend to be more educated, have higher incomes and be married

Children born to older mothers appear to have a healthier start in life as they are less likely to be admitted to hospital and more likely to have vital immunisation jabs, say researchers.

The study also found children with older mothers experienced faster language development and suffered fewer social and emotional difficulties before the age of five.

Researchers from University College London analysed data from more than 78,000 children born in England between 2000 and 2002. The mothers were between 13 and 57 years of age.

In developed countries, there has been a strong trend towards later childbearing. In England and Wales, the number of births to women 40 and over trebled from 1989 to 2009 to almost 27,000.

Although there has been substantial research on young mothers and childhood development, there is little evidence of any effects of older mothers.

Daily Mail