Women waiting longer to have children
ATLANTA — The average age at which American women are having their first child has climbed to an all-time high of 25.1, the government said yesterday.
The rise reflects a drop in teen births and an increase in the number of women who are putting off motherhood until their 30s and 40s.
The age of first-time American moms has risen steadily during the past three decades, from an average of 21.4 in 1970. The latest figure, for 2002, was released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Women contemplating motherhood "are more likely to wait," said CDC statistician Joyce Martin. "It's good overall for infant health, because birth outcomes for teen moms are problematic."
The teen birth rate has dropped 30 percent in the past decade to a historic low of 43 births per 1,000 women in 2002. The CDC also said births among women ages 20 to 24 had dropped to 104 per 1,000 women, from a high of 109.7 in 2000.
The government attributed the drop in the teen birth rate to health campaigns by public and private agencies that discourage teen pregnancies and promote abstinence.
The overall birth rates among women 35 to 39 (41 births per 1,000 women) and those ages 40 to 44 (8 per 1,000) were at the highest levels for those age groups in three decades. |
