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Are Women Getting Pregnant Later?

  • Writer: Alexa Nikolai
    Alexa Nikolai
  • Sep 24, 2025
  • 6 min read
A pregnant woman holds her baby bump

Overview

In 1970, the average woman in the United States had her first child at around the age of 21. In 2022, the average woman in the United States had her first child at around the age of 27, and 12% of women had their first child after age 35. A phenomenon that is not difficult to notice is also supported by data: women in America (and beyond) are having children later than they used to.


There are a number of reasons for this trend, and although later pregnancies may be beneficial by some metrics, potential parents must understand that fertility decreases and the risk of pregnancy and birth complications increases with age. Beginning to make a reproductive life plan early and becoming aware of the challenges of later-in-life pregnancies are thus important steps for anyone interested in becoming pregnant some day.


Women Are Getting Pregnant Later

It likely comes as no surprise to learn that recent data reveal changes in birth patterns over the last several decades. Since 2000, the share of women in their thirties and forties giving birth has continually increased. The year 2022 marked the seventh year in a row that the birth rate among U.S. women in their early thirties was higher than the birth rate among those in their late twenties. Furthermore, from 2021 to 2022, the birth rate rose 6% in women between 40 and 44 and 12% in women over 45. These changes are not occurring due to a decreased desire for children; rather 90% of people in Western countries indicate that they want to have at least one child. However, a number of factors have led to both men and women preferring to have children later than they once did.

Reasons for Delayed Pregnancies

A professional-looking woman takes notes while on the phone

The trend toward having children later first began in the 1960s when the birth control pill was released. This development gave women far greater control over their fertility than they had ever had before. Additionally, changing societal standards and higher numbers of women pursuing education and careers led to later marriages: from 2000 to 2022, the median age for a woman’s first marriage increased from 25 to 28 and for a man’s first marriage increased from 26 to 30.


Now, women were waiting longer to get married and both single and married women could delay having children if they preferred to instead focus on furthering their education, establishing themselves in their careers, enjoying their leisure time, or building greater financial security. Furthermore, in society in general, it became less stigmatized for couples to have fewer children or no children at all or to wait for several years after marriage before having children.


Benefits of Older Parents

There are some clear benefits associated with later births, particularly regarding increased opportunities for women in education and the workforce. Delayed childbearing is more common in women of higher education levels, and the ability to delay having children allows women to be more competitive in the labor market, especially early in their careers.


Furthermore, some evidence suggests that children of older parents may be healthier, better educated, and better behaved, perhaps due to their parents’ education level and financial stability. Women who have children later also report increased happiness boosts around and after birth compared to women who have children earlier. This reaction may be related to a greater readiness and active desire for children and the absence of certain associated stressors, such as job concerns.


Age-Related Changes in Fertility

However, despite these benefits, there are also negative considerations involved in having children later in life, most notably, that fertility declines with age in both men and women. Older women may thus have a harder time getting pregnant than younger women. In illustration, the chance of a woman conceiving within the first year of her trying to conceive is 85% in women under 30, 75% at age 30, 60% at age 35, and 44% at age 40. Even if she is able to get pregnant, an older woman may also have difficulty carrying the pregnancy to term: 27% of pregnancies in women at age 40 end in miscarriage compared to 16% in women under 30.


A graph shows how fertility declines with age
Adapted from BMJ Publishing Group Limited. [Delaying childbearing: effect of age on fecundity and outcome of pregnancy, van Noord-Zaadstra et al., 302, p. 1363, 1991]

The primary mechanism for decreased fertility has to do with egg production. Women are born with all the eggs they will ever produce, which is usually around 2 million. By the time they reach adolescence, most women have about 400,000 eggs remaining. By age 37, only about 25,000 eggs are left. Each month, as ovulation approaches, several eggs develop and mature; however, usually only one egg is released during ovulation. The unreleased eggs are discarded and are not available to be released later. As women get older, fewer eggs are remaining and the quality is often decreased, making it more difficult for the eggs to be fertilized and lead to a healthy pregnancy, even if they are released. Although men produce new sperm throughout their lives, in older men, the sperm is less abundant and of lesser quality. Due to changes in eggs and sperm, older parents are also more likely to have children with certain health conditions, such as autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome, and schizophrenia.


Some other causes of decreased fertility include endometriosis and fibroids. Endometriosis accounts for a third of infertility in women and is more common amongst women in their thirties and forties. This condition occurs when uterine tissue grows outside of the uterus and can result in inconsistent ovulation. Fibroids are abnormal growths on the inside or outside of the uterine wall that are made of the uterus’s muscle cells. Most women will have at least one fibroid at some point, but they are most common between ages 40 and 50. Fibroids can also result in abnormal ovulation patterns.


Finally, other medical treatments, which become more common as women age, may also interfere with fertility. For example, treatment for cancer can reduce egg count, and surgery involving the uterus, such as to remove fibroids, may reduce fertility.


Fertility Treatments

Due to these natural age-related decreases in fertility, a number of treatments have arisen to help older women achieve and maintain pregnancy. Solutions include drugs, surgery, medicines to stimulate ovulation, and a wide variety of reproductive technologies.


After age 30, fertility typically decreases every year until menopause (which usually occurs between ages 45 and 55). Women are therefore unlikely to get pregnant naturally after age 45. As women have become interested in becoming mothers later and later, the use of fertility treatments has increased accordingly. As of 2023, 42% of Americans knew someone who had used fertility treatments, up from 33% in 2018. However, many reproductive technologies are extremely expensive and not always covered by insurance. For example, a single round of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) may cost over $10,000. Furthermore, although these technologies increase the chances of achieving a pregnancy, they are no guarantee. In 2020, only 37% of assisted reproductive technology cycles in the U.S. resulted in a live birth. Even intervention can only achieve so much, and even that continues to decline with age.


As always, the most controllable and consistent way to maintain fertility is to remain healthy. Keeping a healthy diet and lifestyle can help both men and women avoid obesity, diabetes, heart conditions, high blood pressure, and cancer, all of which negatively affect fertility.


Age-Related Pregnancy and Birth Complications

Beyond the difficulties in achieving pregnancy, older women are more likely to experience complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Heart disease, infection, high blood pressure, gestational diabetes (a type of diabetes that occurs only during pregnancy), and blood clots are all more common in these women. The chance of twins (hormonal changes can cause the release of more than one egg during ovulation, and reproductive technologies often lead to multiple births) and C-sections also go up as women age.


Summary

Although there are a number of challenges facing older mothers, as society changes, we will likely continue to see women having children later into their thirties and forties. As explained, there are also benefits associated with this shift. It is, however, important to understand the risks, in order to properly plan and set expectations. In general, people tend to be overconfident about the success rates of later pregnancies and reproductive technologies. In reality, success is not guaranteed, as demonstrated by a 2018 survey revealing that 25% of respondents had fewer children than they had originally wanted, often due to “running out of time.”


Acknowledging these obstacles and planning accordingly can help families align their priorities and achieve the most success in their reproductive journeys.


Test Your Knowledge!

How much do you know about fertility? (Hopefully a little more after reading this article.) Test yourself with this quiz developed by a Swedish research group.


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