According to a new research carried out in Britain, working mothers enjoy better health than full-time housewives. Despite the stress working mothers face by holding down a job, dealing with childcare, housework and striving to keep the family happy.
It appears that working mothers, when compared to full-time housewives, are less likely to become overweight, have a better level of health and a healthier relationship, The Telegraph reported. The study also found that single mothers experience the worse health than working mothers who have a partner and children. You can read about this study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
Team leader, Dr Anne McMunn, University College London, said that women who combine work with children and marriage do seem to have better health than full-time housewives, even though they may experience high levels of stress sometimes. It is not a question of chicken-and-egg either. Dr McMunn said it was the experience of work plus having a family that brings on the better health, not the fact that only healthier mothers decide to carry on working. The researchers examined data on women born in 1946 from the Medical Research Council's National Study of Health and Development. The data registers their health from 1946 until they are 54.
Women's health was examined, with the help of a questionnaire at the ages of 26 through to 54. Every decade, the questionnaire collects data on each woman's work history, whether she is/was married, has children, her height and weight. The healthiest women were the ones who had all three of the following: A partner, children and a job.