More women opted for medical assistance to get pregnant between 2006 and 2010 compared to previous years, according to a recent CDC survey.
A report by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that more number of women sought medical assistance to get pregnant in recent years.
The definition of medical help for pregnancy as determined by CDC is pretty extensive and includes everything starting from medical counseling to testing for infertility and artificial insemination, reports The Wall street Journal. The report is based on the survey results of the National Survey of Family Growth conducted by CDC between 2006 and 2010. The surveyors have interviewed more than 12,000 women.
Women aged between 25 and 44 opting for medical assistance to get pregnant have spiked 12.5 percent during 2006-2010, compared to 11.2 percent in 1995.
The number of women aged between 35 and 39, who have already delivered once or more, seeking such help increased up to 15.8 percent during the study period from 13.1 percent in 1995. However, for women in the same age group who had not conceived earlier, there was a marginal increase of (0.5) percent during the study period.
The women aged between 30 and 34 who opted for medical aid to get pregnant rose up to 11.1 percent in recent years from 10 percent in 1995.
The CDC cautions that there maybe some variations in the number. "While the CDC survey is nationally representative, individual demographic percentages-for example, women in their late 30s who have had no children-may have a larger margin of error because they rely on smaller sample sizes," reads the report.
The average age of first time mothers rose to 25.8 years in 2012 from 25.6 in 2011 and 21 in 1970. Factors like less access to fertility services, more woman force in employment sectors, increasing expenses associated with child birth and raising a family have resulted in late conceiving tendencies in the U.S. women.
Also there is a misconception that conceiving late is not harmful. "I think there's a misconception in a lot of patients that they can wait later in life, and not have any difficulties," said Dr. Scott Whitten, from Nevada Center for Reproductive Medicine, reports kolotv. "Usually in your mid-30s, around age 34-35 there's a significant decline in a woman's ability to get pregnant."
Despite more women requiring medical help to get pregnant, there has been a significant drop in cases reported for infertility treatments, especially among women aged between 25 and 44. Between 2006-2010, only 38 percent of first time want-to-be mothers opted for infertility treatment compared to 52 percent in 1982.
