Pregnancy and Aging

A woman’s body goes through profound changes during pregnancy and now we’re learning that pregnancy speeds up aging possibly by 2 years. It means regardless of your chronological age, a woman’s biological age could be impacted by her diet, lifestyle, stress levels, and pregnancy.  

A study in the Philippines looked at almost two thousand young pregnant women. It measured epigenetic changes in the DNA which are chemical changes to the DNA that can affect the cells and tissues.  They found the biological age of women increased with the number of pregnancies.  And it’s possible that carrying a fetus early in life is especially hard on a woman’s body.  

In another study of nearly 120 women, researchers drew blood samples at various stages in the pregnancy to study DNA changes. They found that these epigenetic changes added two years to a woman’s biological age. That means their organs became older which enhanced their risk for disease and in some cases death.  

What was fascinating is that the aging was reversible. When researchers took blood samples 3 months after birth, the women’s biological age was3-8 years younger than they were during pregnancy. Women with higher body weight didn’t show as much improvement. And the reversal was even greater in women who only breastfed.  

But the study did not determine whether the effect lasted or the impacts on a woman’s lifespan. More studies can tell us that and can add to the prenatal and post-natal care a woman should get.