healthmedicinet

A record number of women in their 40s are having children, official data shows, as birth rates continue to fall in younger age groups.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that the birth rate for women ages 40 to 44 is up four percent from the previous year in 2022 to an all-time high.

There was also a 12 percent increase in women aged 45 to 49, the first change in this rate since 2015, and to another all-time high.

Experts say more people are putting off starting a family until later in life, opting instead to focus on their careers, travel and social life in their younger years. The emergence of technologies such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) and egg freezing have also played a role.

The upswing among older women comes as the fertility rate in America fluctuates just below 1.7 births per woman. It hit a record low in 2020 at 1.6 as the pandemic led many couples to delay having children.

The chart above shows the US fertility rate or number of children per woman per year. IT currently stands at 1.7 per woman, continuing to trend downwards

The graph above shows the birth rates by age group. It shows that while there has been a decline in younger age groups, older people have seen a continued uptick

Dr. Joshua Goldstein, the director of the population center at the University of California, Berkeley, said probably means that more women will have children if they want children’.

He continued, ?They’ve had opportunities for better education, better opportunities to find the right partner, more opportunities to excel in their careers.

‘It’s not about the size of the next generation. It is the contribution that generation can make. The fact that women can have children at the age they want and invest in those children is positive.’

For women aged 40 to 44, the fertility rate was 12.5 births per 1,000 women, while for women in the older age group it was 1.1 per 1,000.

There was also a rise in the birth rate among women in their late 30s, where it increased by two percent to 54.9 per 1,000.

But birth rates continued to fall among women ages 20 to 34 ? hitting a record low among women ages 20 to 24.

Among teens, the rate hit a record low of 13.9 births per 1,000 women in the age group ? after falling eight percent between 2007 and 2021.

Official data showed that a total of 3,000 fewer babies were born last year than in 2021.

According to the CDC’s report, released today, 3.661 million births will be recorded in 2022, slightly less than one percent less than the previous year.

This map shows the total number of births by state. States such as Texas, California, Florida and New York – which are the most populous – led the pack

This graph shows the average age of women at their first birth. This continues to rise as more people postpone having children until later in life

This was a less steep drop from 2019 to 2020, when it fell by four percent during the pandemic.

But it marked a switch from 2020 and 2021, when the birth rate rose by one percent ? likely as couples postponed having children.

America’s fertility rate has been falling for decades, which experts have blamed on the “Instagram” generation prioritizing careers, travel and their social lives over having babies.

Others have also expressed concern about the rising cost of living and student debt, leaving many feeling financially unable to start a family until later in life.

Health officials pointed out that the data was preliminary, but with more than 99 percent of births counted, it indicates that the birth rate continues to fall.

Dr. Phil Levine, an economist at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, explained CNN that if women have children later, they usually have fewer children.

The birth rate in America has been falling for decades as more and more people prioritize their careers and say it is now too expensive to have children.

In the 1800s, when records began, American women each had about seven children.

But this has dropped consistently in recent years, to three per woman in the 1900s and then dropped to below two in the 2010s ? the number needed to maintain the current population.

America’s birth rate fell as much as four percent in 2020 to the lowest level ever recorded during the Covid pandemic as many couples postponed having children.

It recovered by one percent in 2021 when pandemic restrictions were eased to 3.664 million, but the latest data suggests it is now returning to a period of decline.

In the latest report, data shows that 38 of the 50 states plus Washington DC saw a decline in births in 2022 compared to the previous year.

The strongest decline was in New Mexico (8 percent), followed by the District of Columbia (7 percent), North Dakota (5 percent), and New Hampshire (4 percent).

At the other end of the scale was Texas (up 4 percent), followed by Florida (also 4 percent up) and Delaware (up 3 percent).

Experts have previously warned that the low birth rate could lead to economic devastation in America as the federal government would have to collect more taxes to fund programs like Medicare and Social Security.

Dr. Melissa Kearney, an economics professor at the University of Maryland, previously told DailyMail.com, ?There has been a greater emphasis on spending time building a career.

‘Adults are changing their attitudes towards having children.

?They choose to spend money and time in different ways? [that] come into conflict with parenthood.’

She continued that younger people are now also showing more interest in leisure activities and travel than before, in addition to building a career.

‘[Wanting to travel] just conflicts with parenting,” she said.

Many have pointed to the high cost of childcare, student debt of Americans in their early twenties, and other financial pressures for the decline in the birth rate.