Tired toddler mums may finally be able to take some comfort in their exhaustion. It turns out they may have been through a rejuvenation cure by having a baby. At least this is what several Norwegian and international researchers have found in a recent study.

The brains of mothers appeared to be on average between five and six months younger than the brains of their peers with no children.

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The brain differences emerged when the researchers examined the brain structure of more than 12 000 British women between the ages of 40 and 70, based on images in a biobank.

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“The positive effect increases with the number of children,” says Ann-Marie G. de Lange, one of the researchers behind the study. She is a postdoctoral fellow at Oxford University and in the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo (UiO).

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Pregnancy thus appears to give the brain a boost. And the effect is probably not just short-lived.

“We’re seeing these effects up to 30 years after women have had children. This indicates that they’re long-lasting effects,” says associate professor Lars Tjelta Westlye.

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