The journal Neurology published a Korean study that confirms a woman’s stroke risk goes up with each child she has.
It is known that pregnancy and childbirth increase the risk of stroke. The effort a woman makes during childbirth, the birth itself, stress and fears about children’s education can all be aggravating factors that contribute to the development of bleeding in the brain.
Dr. Byung-Woo Yoon and colleagues at the Seoul National University Hospital in the Republic of Korea compared 459 women who had a stroke with 918 women who did not. The average age of participants was 56.
Women who had a stroke had given birth in 38% of cases. 143 women had given birth twice, 107 women had given birth three times and 171 women had given birth four times. The risk of stroke increased 27% with each pregnancy, compared to those who had not experienced childbirth. Those who had four or more births were three times more at risk of stroke than others.
Other factors such as age, family history, hypertension, diabetes, smoking and alcohol all increased the risk of stroke as well.
Dr. Yoon and his colleagues conclude, "Further research concerning the biologic, environmental, and psychosocial basis for this association would be meaningful in order to develop appropriate prevention strategies."