Fertility Rate Of British Women Over 40 Year Olds Higher Than Those Under 20 After Nearly 70 Years

Times are changing for older women in England and Wales, with women over 40 edging women under 20 in fertility rates for 2015. Government data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have shown that there were 15.2 birth per 1,000 women over 40 versus 14.5 births per 1,000 women under 20.

"Women aged 40 and over now have a higher fertility rate than women aged under 20. This was last recorded in the 1940s," ONS statistician Elizabeth McLaren was quoted by The Guardian as saying. Specifically, the phenomenon was last recorded in 1947.

Teenage Pregnancy Down, Older Mothers Increasing

The BBC said that for England and Wales, teenage pregnancy has been decreasing for a number of years now. Births to teenage mothers have reportedly decreased by more than 50 percent from the recorded births in 1990, where it was 33 births per 1,000 teenaged mothers.

In contrast, it said that there has been an upsurge in the pregnancies among older women of England and Wales from the recorded 5.3 births per 1,000 women in 1990. Women now reportedly have their first child when they are 30.3 years old.

Women Delaying Pregnancy

According to a report from the Daily Mail, the ONS said that many women are delaying their pregnancy and this causes the rise in fertility rates for older women. "This may be due to a number of factors such as increased female participation in higher education and the labour force, the increasing importance of a career, the rising costs of childbearing, labour market uncertainty and housing factors," the ONS said

ONS data showed that there were 697,852 live births in England and Wales in 2015, the report said. This was a slight increase of 0.4 percent from 2014. For 2015, mothers in England and Wales had an average of 1.82 children, an even more slight decrease from 2014's 1.83 children per mother.

What do you make of the rising fertility rates for older women? Share your thoughts below.