Children born to women over 40 may be healthier, cleverer and more emotionally stable than those born to parents in their 20s, a new study has found.
Despite warnings that older women are at greater risk of complications during pregnancy, researchers at University College London and Birkbeck, University of London, found that they tended to be wealthier, more experienced and could provide more stability to their child when it was born.
Researchers found that the children of older mothers were 22 per cent less likely to injure themselves in accidents and were almost 30 per cent less likely to be admitted to hospital.
The study also found that there was less conflict between older mothers and their children and that an increase in maternal age could lead to "fewer socio-emotional problems" for children, 'The Times' reported.
Older mothers were more responsive and positive with their children, researchers explained, adding: "Language development at ages three and four years was better for children with older mothers."
"The findings of fewer unintentional injuries and fewer socio-emotional problems with increasing maternal age may suggest that women with more life experiences are able to draw upon a wider range of support that can help to reduce some of the stress of parenting," said Jacqueline Barnes, one of the Birkbeck professors leading the study.
