The Children of Older First-time Mothers in Canada: Their Health and Development - ARCHIVED

This study uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) to examine the relationship between late childbearing (at or after age 35) among first-time mothers in Canada and three facets of development: physical health, behaviour and cognitive development. The following research questions were addressed: do the developmental characteristics of children born to older mothers differ from those of children born to younger mothers? And do other factors, such as demographic characteristics and parenting practices, account for differences in child development by maternal age at birth? For this analysis, first-born children were identified from among all interviewed children whose year of birth was between 1998 and 2005.