First childbirth in early 20s can affect health in 40s - A new study has found that women who conceive their first child in their early 20s do not report better health during midlife than those who had their first baby as a teenager.

The researchers found that women's health at midlife is related to when they had their first child and to their marital history.

Study's lead author Kristi Williams from The Ohio State University in the US said, "We have had all this focus on the bad effects of teen childbearing and never really asked what happens if these teens waited to early adulthood."

The study analyzed data from 3,348 women who had a first child-birth between the ages of 15 and 35 and graded their own health at age 40 on a scale from poor to excellent. The researchers drew comparisons between women who had their first birth as teenagers (ages 15-19); during early adulthood (ages 20-24) and when they were older (ages 25-35).

The results showed that women who were between age 25 to 35 reported better health at age 40 than the two younger groups.

But there was no noteworthy difference in midlife health for those with teen births in comparison to those who waited until they were age 20 to 24.

"We still need to be concerned that women who are having births in their early 20s may face more health challenges as they reach middle age than those who wait longer," Williams concluded.

The study was published in the Journal of Health and Social Behaviour.