Philip Cohen comments on birthing age
Birth rates have declined for women in their 20s and jumped for women in their late 30s and early 40s writes Mike Schneider of Associate Press, citing Census Bureau data. Faculty Associate Philip Cohen noted that "Having children later mostly puts women in a better position. They have more resources, more education. The things we demand of people to be good parents are easier to supply when you are older."
While fertility rates dropped from 1990 to 2019 overall, the decline was regarded as rather stable compared to previous eras. But the age at which women had babies shifted. Fertility rates declined by almost 43% for women between ages 20 and 24 and by more than 22% for women between 25 and 29. At the same time, they increased by more than 67% for women between 35 and 39, and by more than 132% for women between 40 and 44, according to the Census Bureau analysis based on National Center for Health Statistics data, Schneider wrote.
US women giving birth at highest median age on record, WUSA9 TV, May 6, 2022, Mike Schneider