We rarely hear anything positive about pregnancy at 40 and beyond, instead women who give birth in their fifth decade have to listen to statistics telling them that their kids are more likely to have developmental problems and birth defects, and that they're more likely to need C-sections.
But if you had a child at 40 or older, there are finally some good stats for you: According to recent research, women who had babies in their 40s were 44% less likely to develop endometrial cancer than women who had their final childbirth before age 25. Even by age 70, the women who went through pregnancy at 40 or older were 33% less likely to have had the cancer than the young mamas. The study was published in The American Journal of Epidemiology and reported by The New York Times.
Endometrial cancer is pretty curable if caught early, but there is no screening test for it, so you should know what the symptoms are. Abnormal vaginal bleeding (which includes any bleeding after menopause) is one of the red flags. You can read more about endometrial cancer symptoms, risk factors and treatment here.
