Motherhood ages you: Science proves having children really does affect a mum’s biological clock

A new study from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health reported that women who have been pregnant are biologically older than women who had never been pregnant, and the more kids you have, the worse it gets. The research revealed women grow older by up to 2.8 months per child.

The study also found that fathering children affected dad’s biological clock in no way, so, while the stresses of parenthood may feel like it’s giving you grey hairs guys, it looks like you’d probably have had them regardless.

So, to all those overworked and underappreciated mothers out there, I say we use this information to our advantage.

If you’re lucky, during pregnancy you might have received a little extra TLC, the opportunity to put your feet up perhaps, maybe a slight increase in the number of cups of tea made for you, that kind of thing. However, following the birth, this kind of attentiveness can quickly disappear. We now have scientific proof it should actually continue, well, forever, given that pregnancy and childbirth has just kicked your biological clock down the road some.

Your DNA has literally been changed - not my words, the words of the aforementioned scientists - meaning you are older than you should be. These extra months can take their toll on the amount you can do so be sure to use this scientific evidence as permission to have extra long lie-ins at the weekend, put your feet up while your other half sorts the dishes, and take plenty of me time to rejuvenate mind, body and soul and try to claw back some of those lost months.

Mothers across the world, we owe it to ourselves, our children and our other halves to stick around as long as possible, and if that means we have to relinquish a few of life’s daily stresses and focus more time on caring for ourselves in the same way we take care of everyone else, well, so be it. We can’t argue with science now, can we?