The Type Of Mom Likely To Live The Longest, According To Research
Life longevity is awarded to a particular type of mother.
StudioPeace | Canva We've been hearing parents tell their clans of kiddos, "Y'all are gonna be the death of me," for ages, right? Having to change diapers and chasing after two toddlers at once (and worrying about them) must take a few years off a mom's life, right? Apparently not.
According to a study, there is one type of mom who is more likely to live longer: moms of twins.
Per a 2011 study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, research shows that moms of twins live longer than moms who just have one baby at a time.
Women who give birth to two children at once are generally stronger from the start, so they tend to live longer.
"We expected the exact opposite," researcher Shannen Robson from the University of Utah said. "We expected that since most humans have one baby at a time, having two would be burdensome... [Twins] is an identifier of these women who are remarkable, physically exceptional people."
Merih Salmaz | Shutterstock
Researchers also found that twin moms "had longer reproductive life spans, needed less time to recover between pregnancies, and had more children overall."
The study looked at the "natural fertility" of a group of women in 1800s Utah and found that moms of twins generally had between 1.9 and 2.3 more children than single-birth mothers.
To make sure this information was true (since twin babies have higher mortality rates, according to a 2007 study by Chelsea and Westminster Hospital), researchers also adjusted the numbers based on the idea that mothers who lost children might have another faster. Moms of twins still came out on top.
The group that conducted the study hopes to look deeper into the reasons for these results, searching for answers that might benefit all mothers. Because if you push a baby out of you naturally, no matter how many at a time, you deserve all of the benefits you can get from that.
"By identifying them, we can then look at other aspects of what it is about them that makes them more healthy, live longer, and have babies at a faster rate than everyone else in the population," Robson said.
The only hitch in this study? The research may not apply to all mothers with twins.
Monkey Business Images | Shutterstock
The study was based on the "natural fertility" of a group of women over two centuries ago, so in our IVF world, things might be a little different. But if you're a mom who birthed twins the old-fashioned way, this research proves your hard work will be rewarded.
Not only do you get two kids and only have to be pregnant once, but you get to live longer and have the potential for more twins. You can raise a family and make them into a band. Think of the potential!
Jenna Birch is a former author, journalist, & editor. She currently leads narrative & communications at a venture capital firm.