facts about birth in the United States

The age and fertility of moms

    The waiting game: Over the last three decades, women have been waiting longer to start having children. In 1970, the average age for a first-time mother was about 21. In 2005, the average age of first-time moms when they gave birth was 25.2. In 2006, it dropped a bit for the first time since this stat was first measured in 1968 – to 25. How old were you when you had your first child?
    More babies at every age: Birth rates for women in their 20s, 30s, and early 40s are higher than ever and continue to grow. And the fertility rate (an estimate of the average number of births a group of women will have over their lifetimes) rose 3 percent in 2006, to 68.5 births per 1,000 women. This is the highest rate reported since 1991.
    Women ages 20 to 24: The birth rate in this age group rose 4 percent in 2006, to 105.9 births per 1,000 women. The number of total births also rose in this group, as its population increased slightly.
    Women ages 25 to 29: This group saw a 1 percent increase, to 116.7 births per 1,000 women in 2006. And the number of total births rose 4 percent, while the population of this group rose 3 percent.
    Women ages 30 to 34: This group saw a 2 percent increase, to 97.7 births per 1,000 women in 2006, the highest rate since 1964. While the birth rate for women in this age group has risen 21 percent since 1990, the number of births has only risen by 7 percent because of the declining population of women in this group.
    Women ages 35 to 39: The birth rate for this group rose 2 percent, to 47.3 births per 1,000 women. This is the highest rate since 1964. The number of births in this age group rose by 3 percent. Since 1990, the number of births in this age group has risen 57 percent, while the population of women in this group has increased only 5 percent.
    Women ages 40 to 44: The birth rate for this age group rose 3 percent, from 8.9 to 9.4 births per 1,000 women, the highest rate since 1968. The total number of births increased 1 percent. The birth rate for this age bracket has risen over 70 percent since 1990.
    Women ages 45 to 49: The birth rate for this age group was .6 births per 1,000 women in 2006, unchanged from 2005. The total number of births for moms in this group increased 6 percent, as the population of the group grew. This is a record high for this age group, at almost four times the number of births since 1990.
    Women ages 50 and over. This group saw an increase of 18 percent in the number of births in 2006, from 417 in 2005 to 494. (Birth rates for this group are included with the rates for women ages 45 to 49, because of the small numbers.).
    More tot-toting teens: The birth rate was up 3 percent in 2006, to 21.4 births per 1,000 females ages 15 to 17. (Between 1991 and 2005, the birth rate for this age group declined a total of 45 percent.) There was a 4 percent increase among 18- to 19-year-olds to 73 births per 1,000. The only age group under 20 whose birth rate didn't increase was 10- to 14-year-olds. The birth rate for this group declined very slightly from .7 to .6 per 1,000 girls in 2006

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