It’s no secret that many women put off starting a family until their careers have taken off. But along with this comes the nagging idea for working moms, based on prior studies, that women who have kids at an older age put their children’s health at risk in adulthood. Now older moms can rest easier, according to a new German study.

While some prior research has indicated that babies of older moms could grow up to be less healthy adults than those born to younger moms, a new study from the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock dispels this theory—and even turns it on its ear. Data from 18,000 U.S. children and their mothers reveals that those born to older moms (ages 35 to 44) weren’t less healthy or more prone to illnesses than those born to younger moms (ages 25 to 34). In fact, for moms ages 20 and younger, the earlier they gave birth, the more their children suffered from sicknesses as adults.

Researcher Mikko Myrskylä determined that, rather than a mom’s age, there are two other maternal factors affecting a child’s adult health. One is the number of years the mother and child are alive at the same time. Children who lost their mothers early in life had worse health as adults than those whose moms lived longer, possibly due to the psychological impact, or because the mom was not able to emotionally or economically be there for her child for very long. Due to increased life expectancy, however, this risk is not critical today.

The other factor is the mom’s educational background. Children whose mothers had lower educational levels had worse adult health, perhaps because less education is associated with lower income and thus decreased access to proper healthcare. These days, women who have babies later in life are more apt to be better educated.

Of course, there are other risk factors related to delaying childbearing years, such as the decreasing ability to carry a baby to term as a woman gets older.  But if you’ve started or are considering starting a family in your thirties or older, it appears the health of your kids in adulthood needn’t keep you up at night. Now if all those other worries about your kids or your job didn’t keep you tossing and turning at 2 a.m.