Researchers have been able to determine the biological age of women during and after pregnancy and conclude that this age of women increases by two years during their second trimester, but also decreases sharply three months after giving birth. Sometimes even at eight years old. A big surprise, according to the researchers. This is reported by Scientias.
The scientists therefore saw an increasing biological age during the second part of pregnancy, but three months after delivery there was a remarkably strong decrease in this age. “For some individuals even at eight years. So although pregnancy increases biological age, there is a clear and pronounced recovery postpartum,” said researcher Kieran O’Donnel.
Factors that determine decline in biological age
In women who had a higher BMI before their pregnancy, the biological age appeared to decrease less sharply after pregnancy. Breastfeeding women saw this decrease significantly in the three months after their pregnancy. In some cases, according to the researchers, they would be biologically younger than before their pregnancy, but to really determine this, the biological age of the women preconception is necessary. And they did not have this information. In a subsequent study, the international science team wants to demonstrate how biological age develops over a longer period. This should also explain why pregnant women see their biological age increase and then decrease again. The researchers do not know this for sure at the moment. This may be because pregnancy is a kind of stress test or because of adaptive molecular changes by a system that experiences stress.
Dynamic changes
“Our study reveals the remarkably dynamic biological changes that occur during pregnancy. The challenge now is to use that knowledge to improve the health and well-being of pregnant women.”
By: National Healthcare Guide / Johanne Levinsky
Tags: Research biological age pregnant women yields surprising results
