Since 2000 the average age of a first time mother has been slowly increasing. Due to the harsh demands of women’s careers and needing to “have it all” has played a tremendous part in this new trend.
The average age of a first time mother went from being 24.9 years old in 2000 to 26.3 in 2014. The sharpest increase of age was seen from 2009-2016. A lot of this has to due with the decline of teens giving birth.
Lessening the percentage of teens giving birth is fantastic. Majority of teens are not ready to be mothers at such a young age and it can cause great conflict. But, with the decline of teenage mothers and the increasing age of first time mothers comes with it’s own issues.
When women wait to have children later on in life, it also means they tend to have fewer children. To maintain the U.S. population every couple needs to have 2.1 children. At this moment, the U.S. is barely maintaining that number.
Also, there are more health risks for both the baby and mother. That includes a greater risk for gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia and other issues.
Read the full article here:
Average Age of First-Time Moms in U.S. Still Rising: CDC
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