The physiology of reproductive senescence in women is well understood,

but the drivers of variation in senescence rates are less so. Evolutionary

theory predicts that early-life investment in reproduction should be favoured

by selection at the cost of reduced survival and faster reproductive senescence.

We tested this hypothesis using data collected from preindustrial

Finnish church records. Reproductive success increased up to age 25 and

was relatively stable until a decline from age 41. Women with higher

early-life fecundity (ELF; producing more children before age 25) subsequently

had higher mortality risk, but high ELF was not associated with

accelerated senescence in annual breeding success. However, women with

higher ELF experienced faster senescence in offspring survival. Despite

these apparent costs, ELF was under positive selection: individuals with

higher ELF had higher lifetime reproductive success. These results are consistent

with previous observations in both humans and wild vertebrates that

more births and earlier onset of reproduction are associated with reduced

survival, and with evolutionary theory predicting trade-offs between early

reproduction and later-life survival. The results are particularly significant

given recent increases in maternal ages in many societies and the potential

consequences for offspring health and fitness.