Children of youngest and oldest mothers at increased risk of developmental vulnerabilities

Children born to teenage mothers have the highest risk of developmental vulnerabilities at age 5, largely due to social and economic disadvantage, a new study of almost 100,000 school children has found. The risk declines steadily with every additional year of a mother’s age up to 30 years, then increases slightly after 35 years and older — to a level similar to the risk for children born to mothers in their early 20s.