Late moms live longer

Two news items may cause young ladies to rethink both the timing for motherhood, and whether a potential employer will enable them to manage it.

"Does your health plan cover contraception?"

Ruling on the latest of a handful of cases on the blurring separation between church and state, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that yes, closely held corporations such as the evangelist-owned "Hobby Lobby" may refrain from providing health care coverage related to birth control, if they seek an exemption on religious grounds (even if it does cost a business far less than covering dependent children who may result).

That's not good news for women's budgets.

According to a 2012 report (citing other studies) by the Center for American Progress, even women with health insurance still spend around 30 percent of out-of-pocket healthcare costs on contraception (about $300 to $1,000 annually, including related doctor visits). That adds up to nearly 70 percent more overall spending on healthcare by women as compared with men.

As previously reported in the North Idaho Business Journal, American women also earn less per hour than do men, with the wage gap especially evident among professionals in the same jobs, so they can ill afford the higher tab. The CAP report also stated that half of women surveyed did not use the prescribed contraception method as directed because it was too expensive.

Now consider that women are waiting longer than their mothers and grandmothers did to start a family. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 1970, the average age was 21; in 2009, it was over 25 and rising. U.S. figures for 2013 aren't available, but in Britain last year it was 29. While waiting too long (or starting too early) brings associated health risks, a new study also suggests older moms may have an advantage: longer life.

According to a long-term Boston University study published last month in the Journal Menopause, women who naturally conceive their last child after the age of 33 tend to live longer than those who are done by 29. In fact, these older moms were twice as likely to live to age 95. This remained true even after individual health factors such as smoking and obesity, which reduce reproductive health, were removed.

Is there something about giving birth around 30 that benefits a woman's body? We don't yet know. The Boston researchers suspect the connection may go the other direction - that prolonged fertility could be linked to a genetic marker for longevity. Previous research conducted by the study's lead author found that women who gave birth after age 40 were four times more likely to live to 100 than younger women. In that study, family history of longevity was a correlative factor.

If the reproductive system ages more slowly, so does the rest of the body. Researchers agree: This can be influenced by lifestyle changes and healthy living, however long the life.

Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Contact her at sholeh@cdapress.com.