Who would have thought that having a child gives a mother the added benefit of having lower blood pressure for the next several years followign childbirth? I thought it would be the opposite! But according to a new research, in women with healthy pregnancies, blood pressure levels were lower among women after a first pregnancy, compared to women who did not give birth.

Researchers examined blood pressure changes in 1,373 women who had never given birth at baseline. They found that the average systolic blood pressure was lower by 2 millimeters of mercury and the average diastolic blood pressure was lower by 1.5 mm of mercury for the 635 women who'd had a first pregnancy uncomplicated by hypertension, compared to 738 women who did not give birth during the 20-year study period.

A 2-mm mercury reduction in mean blood pressure for women's long term health could translate into a 6 percent reduction in stroke mortality, a 4 percent reduction in coronary heart disease, and a reduction in total mortality for 3 percent of the population, Gunderson said.

They said that these observations still held, no matter how many children came after that first child. Interesting. I was already wondering whether my life span will be shorter from all the physical and emotional stress of taking care of children, but apparently, it might even be the reverse after all!