Can pregnancy have an anti-aging effect on the body? A new study from the Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem the surprising answer is yes.

The research found women undergo a rejuvenating process during pregnancy, which slows down aging in the body, The Telegraph reports.

The findings are based on studies of pregnant mice undergoing liver transplants. The researchers found that 96 percent of the pregnant mice healed two days after the surgery, which was quicker than older and younger non-pregnant mice from similar operations.

They concluded that mothers and their children share the same bloodstream, so expectant moms receive nutrients from the child’s blood that are intended to help the newborn grow — giving the mothers a rush of “youth serum” that slows aging, The Telegraph reports.

Although the study was done with mice, researchers said the findings apply to humans, too.

“As we age, it is more difficult for our tissue to regenerate itself,” the researchers wrote. “Because pregnancy is a unique biological model of a partially shared blood system, we have speculated that pregnancy would have a rejuvenating effect on the mother.”