Comments on: Babies Born to Older Moms May Be Healthier, Says Study

By: Daphne

Daphne — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 13:49:49 +0000

I gave birth to my daugther when my husband and I were both 43 years old. My little girl is now 20 months old, healthy and happy.

By: Amy

Amy — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 04:09:58 +0000

I am 35 yrs old and I’m just six weeks from delivering my baby girl. Now I am freaking out!! The father is 46. And I am now scared about autism. I have been a little scared throughout my pregnancy because of my age, but I never even thought about the age of the father. All I can do is pray. Everyone reading this please say a prayer for me. I would greatly appreciate it. I’m a scared mama! Thanks Amy

By: annasavoie

annasavoie — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 20:05:39 +0000

I’m sorry but this article is poorly written and misleading/confusing. Is the study about 2 age groups 25 to 34 and 35 to 44 or 4 age groups? Adding 20 to 24 and 19 and under to the list. And “After 10 years of evaluation, researchers found that children born to mothers over 35 were just as likely to develop disease as their counterparts.” How is this reassuring to women over 35? And what the heck does fathers and autism have to do with anything? Is it included in the study?

Sorry to be so negative but after reading this piece 3 times I consulted my partner [who's a scientist] to determine if I was misunderstanding the language or if this was indeed poorly constructed. He confirmed the latter. I don’t think it’s prudent to publish things with such an optimistic headline if nothing in the article actually backs up such a claim. I know this isn’t CNN, but even the Bump should be careful about wording and citation. There are plenty of women over 35 who are worried about the effect their age might have on the health of their offspring, giving them good facts and data cited properly would be fantastic at keeping them informed. This just muddies the waters.

By: annasavoie

annasavoie — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 19:53:00 +0000

I’m sorry but this is really poorly written and misleading. I’m not sure why women over 35 should be excited by this article. Perhaps reading the actual study will have some insight.

By: CWVetsWidow

CWVetsWidow — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 18:17:22 +0000

Too bad I can’t have anymore. I would love to have a child with my husband, and our age difference according to this article would be awesome. I’m 44 and he’s 34.

By: michelle

michelle — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 17:27:48 +0000

that’s what I was thinking too- perhaps people who are older are just more likely to be more prepared for a child, in many ways.

By: R

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 17:19:05 +0000

I believe the same theory, T.

By: T

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 15:38:20 +0000

I wonder if this is because older moms tend to have more planned pregnancies and so they take their vitamins and are more diligent about their health before and during pregnancy?