Why having sons could place a double burden on a mum’s heart

HAVING sons can break a woman’s heart in more ways than one, research shows.

Working mothers are at greater risk of heart disease and fatal heart attacks if they have boys.

Although it isn’t clear why, scientists think it may be because sons are less likely to pull their weight at home by helping with the housework. Boys may also be more troublesome – putting their mother’s heart under extra strain.

The theories come from Italian researchers who tracked the health of more than 100,000 women for eight years. Most of the women worked and 60 per cent had at least one child. Researchers found that being employed was not linked to heart problems – unless a woman had sons.

Working mothers of at least two boys were more than twice as likely to have heart disease than those without children. In contrast, daughters had little or no effect on heart health, the journal Social Science & Medicine reports.

The Turin University researchers said having sons and holding down a job may place a ‘double burden’ on a woman’s heart. Figures from Italy show that just as women do more chores than men, teenage girls do more to help around the house than adolescent boys.

Another explanation for the increased risk for working mums is that teenage boys’ behaviour causes more stress.

It is also possible that the problem can be traced back to pregnancy, with bigger male babies taking a toll on the mother’s heart. Researchers said their theory could be tested by doing a comparative study in Scandinavia. Housework there is divided more evenly than in Italy and such a study could show whether Scandinavian women have healthier hearts than Italians.