According to Belgian and Dutch researchers who studied 330-women with multiple scleriosis (MS) for 18-years, the progression this long-term inflammatory condition of the central nervous system can be slowed down in women who give birth.

They found that women with the severe disability who had babies, took longer for the condition that affects the transfer of messages from the nervous system to the rest of the body, to develop.

All the women participating in the study, visited a specialist centre, with the first symptoms of the disease noted between the ages of 22 and 38-years.

Of these women, 24% were childless, while 170 or 52% had given birth before developing their symptoms, while 61 or 18% had their children after developing their symptoms, including 19 or 6% who had children both before and afterwards developing the condition.

Researchers found both the likelihood and speed of progression of the condition was affected by childbirth, possibly due to the hormones released during pregnancy, which had a beneficial effect on the immune system.

The disease affects around 100,000 people in the UK, and is twice as common in women than in men, mostly affecting women of childbearing age.

The research has been published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.