Older moms cope well physically, but are more anxious
POSTED July 10, 2009 - 13:04 | POSTED BY Jyoti Pal
Last edited by Sham Kamboj on August 12, 2009 - 13:12
However, the older mothers are more anxious about the well-being of their young ones as compared to the younger counterparts, the study noted.
Intent of the study
For the purpose of the study, 620 Australian women in their 20s, 30s and 40s were analyzed from the seventh month of pregnancy until four months after the delivery.
The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of parental age and IVF conception on corporal fitness, happiness and emotional tuning during the changeover to parenthood.
Similar physical activity
The study found that age made no difference in physical fitness, uneasiness of pregnancy and frame of mind. The older mothers reported comparable levels of training, exercise and physical movement as their younger counterparts.
Lead researcher and psychologist, Catherine McMahon of Macquarie University, said of the results, “Generally it has been thought that older mums may not cope with the physical demands of pregnancy as well as younger mums, or they may be very anxious or find it difficult to cope with lifestyle changes.”
“But what we found was that even though there are some differences, older mums were generally adjusting well.”
The dissimilarities
The researchers noticed only two differences in relation to age: First, the older mothers were more apprehensive about their unborn babies; and second, younger mothers were more positive about changes in their bodies.
“Older mums expressed greater anxiety about the well-being of their unborn baby, as you might expect given well publicised evidence of higher rates of obstetric complications in this age group,” Ms. McMahon noted.
The findings of the study were presented at the European Society of Human Reproduction & Embryology conference in Amsterdam.
