The Changing Age of First Time Mothers

A friend of mine recently had her first baby at 35 and it got me thinking – how does that fit in with the average age of first time mothers around the world?

I mean, I’m sure women are starting families later than they were years ago, but how much later are they starting and is that the case all over the world?

In my search for answers, I discovered some research that that, while a little old (it was published a few years ago), provided some interesting insights into the difference between the average age of first time mothers in 1970 and 2006.

I’ve included the main table from the research below:

It’s amazing to see how much longer, in such a relatively short period of time, women are waiting these days to have their first child.

It’s also fascinating to see that out of the 14 countries represented that mothers in the US are still having their first child earlier than all other countries.

You can see the whole brief from the study here. Keep in mind though that it focuses heavily on the US, but is still an interesting read no matter where in the world you are.