Average age of mothers continues to rise

Mothers are getting older, health risks are the result
For many women, careers are more important nowadays than their childhood wish. That's why most mothers are older when they have their first child. But is it really reasonable for women to wait longer and get pregnant later?

In today's society, performance counts. That's why many women first focus on their job. Or they search for their dream prince for years and do not think about a pregnancy. Such reasons lead to mothers getting older at their first birth. Scientists have now tried to clarify the effects of these later pregnancies. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have now published the results of their current research.

The average age at first pregnancy has increased significantly in the United States over the past decades. Physicians were impacting the entire population. (Image: ico00 / fotolia.com)

In 1970 the average age of pregnant mothers was 21 years
In 1970, the US government began to record the age at which women become pregnant for the first time. The average age was 21 at that time, said the doctors. Since that time, the average age has been constantly increasing. But sexual education is not the only factor responsible for this development. Another important reason for the rising age is the busy lifestyle of modern women, explain the American researchers. It is not wrong to wait with a child until the career is going well or the perfect man has been found. Doctors advise women over 30 years, however, that they should be careful. Because from this age to start pregnancies difficult and complications can occur more frequently, warn the experts of the CDC.

Average age of expectant mothers has risen to 26 years
If women become pregnant later, it could not only affect the child and his mother, the doctors report. Also, the average age of mothers will continue to increase as women continue to delay their pregnancy. The consequence would be that the birth rate falls and thus affect the overall population, the researchers said. The average age of women expecting their first child has risen to 26 years. In addition, about 9.1 percent of the women who had their first child in 2014 were 35 or older. In 2000, this value was still at 7.4 percent. In recent decades, the number of first births among older women in the United States has continued to increase. In the course of this development, however, at least the birth rate among minors has fallen sharply, explains a spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention..

Risk of complications and genetic defects increases
The average age at first birth is considerably higher today than it was forty years ago. Fertility in women, however, decreases with age, making it increasingly difficult for older women to become naturally pregnant, the researchers explain. Reasons for the average later pregnancies are the declining birth rates among teenagers, but economic factors also play a role. Many women would postpone their maternity for higher education or career. The awareness of today's teenagers for the realities of pregnancy as well as the greater job and educational opportunities for women are arguably the biggest drivers of change, said T. J. Mathews of the CDC.

Impact on the total population
The later pregnancies also affect the entire population, warns. Brooke Hodes-Wertz of NYU Langone Medical Center. In older women, for example, there is an increased risk of complications. Thus increase the probability of gestational diabetes and the transmission of genetic defects. The fertility of women also decreases generally with age, and it is harder for older women to get pregnant, explains the doctor. The decline in fertility begins slowly at the age of 30 and at age 35, the difference is very pronounced. In addition, the risk of miscarriage increases and the likelihood of further complications such as high blood pressure during pregnancy. Premature births and other problems are possible consequences, reports the physician. According to them, the risks increase drastically every five years after the age of 35. The risk of having a chromosomal abnormality in the baby, like the one that causes Down syndrome, also increases with the age of the mother. Hodes Wertz.

However, if women are 30 to 34 years old, they are still in a group with low health risks. Brooke Hodes Wertz. According to CDC data, in 2013, 677 women in America over the age of 50 were expecting one child. In 2014, this number had even increased to 743 births, the scientists report. Nevertheless, the United States still has a lower average age at pregnancy than many countries in Europe and Asia.