CDC: First Time Mothers In The US Are Waiting Longer To Have A Child

More and more women are taking charge of their own lives and choosing to pursue a career before they settle down and have children. According to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, first time mothers in the US are getting older. 

The data was generated between the year 2000 and 2014 from all states. The average age of an American woman having her first child rose to 26.3 years old, a 1.4 increase from 24.9 years old in the previous decades. 

The trend rings true across all U.S. states. In Washington, D.C., for example, where the population growth is also slowing, according to The Washington City Paper, recorded the largest shift at up to 3.4 years of increase in age at first birth. Meanwhile, states like Connecticut and New Hampshire recorded a shift of up to less than a year.

The CDC also found the average first mom age increase in all racial and ethnic categories. Asians and Pacific Islanders have the highest average, which is now at 29.5 years old (from 27.8 years old in 2000), while American Indians are likely to be pregnant by 23.1 years old (from 21.6 years old in 2000). Women with Hispanic background recorded an average of 1.9 year decline.

"Over the past several decades, the United States continued to have a larger number of first births to older women along with fewer births to mothers under age 20," the researchers wrote (via Time). "This trend and the more recent uptick in delayed initial childbearing can affect the number of children a typical woman will have in her lifetime, family size, and for the overall population change in the United States."

NPR reported that this shift can be attributed to the decrease of unplanned teen pregnancies in the recent years. Since 2000, the first-time birth statistics among teenagers dropped a total of 42 per cent or only 1 in 7 births (from 1 in 4).