Spanish scientists have reported that delaying pregnancy may result in shortened life expectancy for the children.
With more and more women deciding to put off pregnancy for the sake of career have been resulting in delayed pregnancy for women across the globe. Delaying in getting pregnant leads to adverse effects on the offspring, like abnormal number of chromosomes, and other conditions. This is for the first time delayed pregnancy is being linked to lessening of life expectancy in the babies.Researchers who have worked with delayed pregnancy in mice had said that this had led to shorter life spans for the offspring’s' and reducing birth weights. When offsprings were assessed for all other parameters of health, none showed as much detrimental effects as the life expectancy and the birth weight.
Babies are considered of low birth weight if they are born weighing less than 2.5kgs. These babies are more likely o have serious health problems as newborns, and may be more at risk from long term disabilities like mental retardation, cerebral palsy, malfunctions of the lungs, eyes or ears.
The results of the study will be published in the current issue of the journal Biology of Reproduction.
