Women who have a premature baby are twice as likely to die young, new study suggests 

Women who give birth to a premature baby are around twice as likely to die young, a study has revealed.

The greater risk of death is highest in the first decade after birth but it persists for up to 40 years, researchers found.

The study, published in the British Medical Journal, shows giving birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy is linked to death from all causes including heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

After taking account of other risk factors, the researchers found that women who delivered pre-term were 1.7 times more likely to die in the next ten years. 

Those who gave birth between 22 and 27 weeks were 2.2 times more likely to die.

The authors said their findings show that mothers who deliver prematurely ‘need long-term clinical follow-up for detection and treatment of chronic disorders’. 

The study, led by the Swedish Research Council, analysed the length of two million pregnancies from 1973 to 2015.

The study, published in the British Medical Journal, shows giving birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy is linked to death from all causes including cancer and diabetes (file image)

This data was compared with deaths registered on the Swedish Death Register, with 76,000 women dying at an average age of 58.

An estimated 2,654 early deaths were associated with premature delivery. This equates to one excess death for every 73 women who delivered their baby early.

The study concluded: ‘These findings suggest that all women who deliver pre-term, and not only subgroups with other major complications, have raised mortality risks.’