Knowledge Bank

An emerging body of evidence indicates that the age at which women have their first child has substantial consequences for their health across the life course (Williams et al. 2011). These effects are of great importance for women’s health, since the stress associated with early childbearing can lead to weight related problems such as obesity (Davis et al. 2010). Evidence shows that obesity is one of the main precursors to hypertension (Mikhail et al. 1999). The purpose of this research is to broaden the perspective of public health experts by investigating the linkage between non-marital childbearing and hypertension in midlife. Data used from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor 2009), to compare women’s midlife cardiovascular health and time at first birth, while controlling for a range of background characteristics linked to both birth timing and health. If early life childbearing is positively correlated with worsened cardiovascular health at midlife, this may help interventionists and educators to inform adolescents about the risks of of having children early in life. A bivariate and multivariate analysis along with a logistic regression model was used order to arrive at the results of the highest risk for cardiovascular disease falling on those who give birth to children between the ages of 20 and 24. To conclude, such information can also help practitioners identify women who may be vulnerable to cardiovascular disease and guide early intervention and prevention efforts.