30.2 years (2020 est.)
Average maternal age has risen for both first-time mothers (from 28.3 years in 2010 to 29.6 in 2020) and those who have given birth previously (from 31.3 years in 2010 to 32.0 in 2020). The highest proportion of mothers were aged between 30 and 34 (more than one-third (36%) of all mothers).
By 2020, one-half of first-time mothers (53%) was aged 30 years or over. The proportion of first-time mothers who were aged 35 years and older increased markedly in this time. Before 1991, it was uncommon for women to start childbearing at age 35 years or older (up to 5%).
Importantly, fathers tend to be older (30.7 years old on average) in comparison to mothers (23.2 years old on average). That being said, though, the age gap between moms and dads has shrunk somewhat over the most recent 5,000 years. Researchers say the most recent estimates of maternal age average 26.4 years old.
At age 30, fertility slowly starts to decrease. Most women don't have trouble early in the decade. In fact, even as you inch closer to your late 30s, your chance of getting pregnant within a year is around 65 percent. Age 37 is when fertility decreases more rapidly.
If you are thinking about having a baby in your late thirties or early forties, you are not alone. Women ages 35-45 are increasingly becoming first-time moms. And most healthy women in this age group have healthy pregnancies, births and babies.
Women who become pregnant in their 30s and early 40s can have safe, healthy pregnancies, says Ellie Ragsdale, MD, director of fetal intervention at UH Cleveland Medical Center.
Pregnant women over the age of 35 and having their first baby have been termed as being advanced maternal age (AMA) or older mothers, or they are being referred to as an elderly primigravida or elderly primipara.
A woman's peak reproductive years are between the late teens and late 20s. By age 30, fertility (the ability to get pregnant) starts to decline. This decline happens faster once you reach your mid-30s. By 45, fertility has declined so much that getting pregnant naturally is unlikely.
1 Yes, your odds of conception at 33 are not as good as they were at 28. At around age 37, fertility starts to decline at a much more rapid pace. Research has found that in any given month your chances of getting pregnant at age 30 are about 20%. Compare that to your odds at age 40, which are just 5%.
Down syndrome occurs in people of all races and economic levels. The risk increases with the mother's age (1 in 1250 for a 25 year old mother to 1 in 1000 at age 31, 1 in 400 at age 35, and about 1 in 100 at age 40). However, 80% of babies with Down syndrome are born to women under age 35 years.
But despite common misconception, they can still have smooth gestations and healthy babies. "It's normal to be concerned about later age pregnancy, and yet women at the age of 35 are generally healthy and can have babies," says Juli Fraga, Psy. D., a San Francisco-based psychologist specializing in reproductive health.
Geriatric pregnancy is a rarely used term for having a baby when you're 35 or older. Rest assured, most healthy women who get pregnant after age 35 and even into their 40s have healthy babies.
It used to be a big deal for a woman to have her third or fourth child at 35. Now more women are having babies in their late 30s and even 40s. Today, women may want a few more life experiences under their belts before they start a family. Some women may take longer to find their life partner—as was the case for me.
Australian dads are among the oldest in the world, and we're not getting any younger. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics' data on registered births in 2020, the median age of fathers is 33.6 years, rising from 28.5 years in 1975, when data was first collated.
Every stage of parenting has its challenges, but one poll reveals what age most parents feel they struggled with the most.
If you're older than 35 and hoping to get pregnant, you're in good company. Many families are delaying pregnancy well into their 30s and beyond — and delivering healthy babies. Taking special care can help give your baby the best start.
But an increased stress might become an issue for women in their 50s and beyond. "Because of this, most Australian doctors would recommend an upper limit of 50 to 52 for a woman to actually carry a pregnancy."
Falling fertility: A woman's ability to get pregnant begins to decrease slightly at age 27, and then decreases significantly after the age of 37. The average healthy couple under the age of 30 has about 95% of conceiving within a year. Once you're over 30, the chance of getting pregnant decreases by about 3% each year.
More women than ever are choosing to become first-time moms at 40 and beyond. We've been hearing for years that 40 is the new 30, and the increase in women having their first pregnancy over 40 shows that 40 isn't too late for women who want to become mothers.
At 40, a woman has a one in 100 chance of conceiving a baby with a foetal abnormality; by 45, that's one in 30. Pregnancy is also much riskier for an older mum.
The oldest recorded mother to date to conceive was 73 years, while the youngest mother was 5 years old. According to statistics from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, in the UK more than 20 babies are born to women over age 50 per year through in-vitro fertilization with the use of donor oocytes (eggs).
The stages of adulthood examined here include: Early Adulthood (ages 22--34). Early Middle Age (ages 35--44), Late Middle Age (ages 45--64), and Late Adulthood (ages 65 and older).
"The Marriage Crunch" was based on a study by Harvard and Yale researchers that projected college-educated women had a 20 percent chance of getting married if they were still single at 30, a 5 percent chance at age 35, and just a 2.6 percent chance at age 40.