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The study of biological aging, how our cells, tissues and organs change over time, independent of how many years have passed, is a growing area of research that aims to help scientists understand the root causes of chronic illnesses and find ways to enhance longevity. A review article published in Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism discusses the connections between pregnancy and biological aging.

The authors hypothesize that when pregnancies occur too closely together, the body may not have enough time to recover—causing changes related to biological aging to accumulate. They hope that studying the biological changes that occur during pregnancy can help improve maternal health.

"Our previous research has found that biological age transiently rises during pregnancy, peaking around the third trimester or at the time of delivery," says corresponding author Jesse Poganik of Harvard Medical School. "If we accept the idea that these short-term changes in biological age occur, the question is how we can relate those changes to the overall trajectory of aging over the course of a lifetime."

In this article, the authors propose that the recovery time between pregnancies may ultimately affect a mother's long-term health. Repeated pregnancies with short intervals in between could prevent complete recovery, allowing some changes to accumulate over successive pregnancies.

"It's possible that this could change the overall trajectory of aging," Poganik says, but he adds that these changes don't necessarily equate with biological damage.

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