Study: Moms Have Lower Blood Pressure

Having kids more than fulfilling on many levels — it’s also good for your health! And even though parenthood can be stressful, a new study finds that parents have lower blood pressure than adults without children.

“Women were driving the effect,” said co-author Julianne Holt-Lunstad, a psychologist at Brigham Young University. “Women with children had the lowest blood pressure, and women without had the highest.”

The study followed nearly 200 adults who wore portable blood pressure monitors which took readings at random intervals three times per hour.  When researchers compared parents with children under age 2 years old with parents with teens, they found no difference…blood pressure levels were still lower in those with children.