The most common age for women to have children is now 31: a decade older than their mums

Feb. 15, 2024 - PRLog -- New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that women are having children later compared to previous generations. Researchers looked at women who have now completed their families and discovered that the most common age for them to give birth was 31. For their mums, it was a whole decade earlier.

Despite this rise in the most likely age for women to have a child, the average family size is now creeping up after recent record lows. A leading health expert says increased access to fertility testing means women can safely plan to have children later in life, once their careers have been established and they have a settled lifestyle.

Dr Avinash Hari Narayanan (MBChB), Clinical Lead at London Medical Laboratory, says: 'The latest official childbearing figures look at "completed families" by focussing on women born in 1977. That's because after the age of 45 the number of women giving birth is relatively small and does not affect the overall patterns, says the ONS.

'The most likely age for a woman born in 1977 to give birth was 31. Her mother, however, was probably born around 1950 and most likely gave birth in her early twenties. That's huge social and biological changes in childbirth patterns.

'However, the figures reveal that having children later doesn't necessarily mean that families are getting smaller. In fact, there has also been a rise in average family size, showing that increased access to fertility testing and improved maternal health outcomes, means women can safely enlarge their families at a later age.

'These fascinating figures show that women now have increased confidence in information surrounding their fertility. Easier access to improved testing means they can plan families with greater certainty than ever before. A woman can now build her family around positive choices such as establishing her career or choosing to settle with a partner later in life.

'London Medical Laboratory's own "Fertility Hormones Profile" test is an at-home, finger-pick blood test that checks levels of key hormones related to fertility, menopause, period problems and other hormone-related issues.

'The Fertility Hormones Profile test can be taken at home through the post, or at one of the many drop-in clinics that offer this test across London and nationwide in over 120 selected pharmacies and health stores. For full details see: https://www.londonmedicallaboratory.com/product/fertility-hormones-profile