London - If you have ever endured the sleepless nights, endless feeding and constant worrying that comes with having children, you may find this hard to believe.
But having babies can actually mean you live longer.
A UK study found that women who are mothers are 20 percent less likely to die early at any given point than their childless counterparts.
Breast-feeding is also linked to a longer life, as is taking the pill, according to the research, which studied hundreds of thousands of European women.
It is thought that the associated hormonal changes with having babies boost heart health and reduce the risk of cancers.
The researchers from Imperial College London analysed detailed data on the lives of 322 972 women from 10 European countries.
During the 13 years of the study, 14 383 of the women died. Almost 6 000 of the deaths were from cancer and 2 400 were caused by heart disease.
But the scientists found that those who had children were a fifth less likely to have died – with those who had their first baby while still in their 20s seemingly particularly blessed with good health.
The analysis also showed that women who had two or three children were less likely to die of cancer than others. As well as this, it revealed that mothers who breast-fed were eight percent less likely to have died than those who bottle-fed their babies.
Finally, women who were taking or had taken the oral contraceptive pill were 10 percent less likely to die than those who didn’t – as long as they didn’t smoke.
If they smoked, the benefits of the pill on longevity were cancelled out. The study didn’t look at the reasons for the links but it is thought they can be explained by hormonal changes.
The study only looked at women but previous research has found that becoming a parent is also good for male health.
Daily Mail