Does pregnancy accelerate biological aging?

During pregnancy, the hands of the body's biological clock run faster and the biological age increases by several years, according to a study by the Yale University of Medicine.

However, after birth, this process changes, especially if you are breastfeeding.

The study focused on some chemical modifications that DNA undergoes and which fall into the field of epigenomics, that is, DNA modulations that change gene activity without changing the components.

Some of these genes are believed to be an indicator of aging.

The team looked for these indicators in the blood samples of 120 women during pregnancy and, for about half of them, after giving birth.

From early pregnancy to late pregnancy, over about 20 weeks, biological age increased by about two years.

However, when the researchers examined the biological age of the same women three months after giving birth, they found a surprise.

"At three months after birth, we saw a large drop in biological age, up to eight years for some individuals. So, while pregnancy increases biological age, there is a clear (and pronounced) recovery after birth," study coordinator Kieran O'Donnell said in a statement.

The study also showed that there are several factors that influence the recovery of biological age such as a high pre-pregnancy body mass index that seems to make it more difficult to turn back the hands of the biological clock.