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Modern women should give birth at an early age
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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Scientists have stated that modern girls are already genetically predisposed to conceiving and giving birth to a child at an early age. At the same time, experts are sure that this ability of the female half of the population is passed on by inheritance, from mother to daughter.
These conclusions were made after conducting large-scale research by an international group of scientists from the Netherlands and Great Britain. During the study, the scientists analyzed the genomes of different women living in these countries.
The experts have already published the results of their work in one of the scientific journals.
A group of international researchers, after studying the genome of thousands of women from two countries, found that some of the women who took part in the study had a genetic predisposition to early conception, while the ability to conceive normally and give birth to a healthy child at an early age was passed on to their daughters by such women.
Scientists also noted that medical progress and an increase in the quality of life have led to the fact that modern women are ready to have children much earlier than several generations ago, but modern society strongly condemns early pregnancy and encourages postponing childbirth to a later date.
The study was conducted within the framework of the international project "Sociogenome", a group of scientists for their work took a previously collected database of Dutch and British women. From the Netherlands, scientists selected 4,300 samples of the genome of women who were not relatives, from the UK - 2,400 samples of twin women. After a detailed study of all the selected samples, specialists determined that genes are responsible for 15% of differences in the age of birth of the first child and 10% of differences in the total number of children that a woman is able to give birth to during her life. Scientists also noted that such genetic effects can partially overlap, which can explain frequent pregnancies in women who gave birth to their first child at an early age.
Research in this area has been conducted before, and the experts' conclusions were based on genome data from twins and close relatives. But in this study, scientists examined data from women from different countries, which allowed experts to understand that natural selection continues to this day. In conclusion, the experts noted that the ability to conceive early is an advantage that is passed on by inheritance.
The head of the research project, sociologist Melinda Mills, noted that from the point of view of genetics and evolution, modern women should give birth at an earlier age compared to their ancestors. But now we are seeing a completely opposite process, modern conditions and the rhythm of life, social frameworks have led to the fact that girls are in no hurry to start a family and children, postponing it to a later time. However, scientists say that over time, women's ability to fertilize decreases, and this can lead to childlessness (now there is an increase in the number of couples who cannot have a child after the age of 30).
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