24 Oct 2006

Older women capable mothers

Women 50 and older who have babies are physically and mentally as "capable" as younger mothers, says a University of Southern California study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

The study of 150 women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s concluded that older mothers did not have higher stress levels or health risks than younger mothers, BBC News reported.

The findings suggest that criticism of women who have babies at an older age is based on prejudice rather than any evidence that they're less capable mothers than younger women, and that there is no reason to bar older women from having in-vitro fertilisation, said researcher Anne Steiner. – (HealthDayNews)