Average Age of First-Time Moms at Record High, CDC Study Shows
American women are waiting longer to have their first child, according to CDC.
— -- More women in the United States are putting off becoming mothers until later in life, according to a new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The findings show the average age of first-time mothers is now at an all-time high -- just over 26.
The change is largely due to a measurable decline in teen moms, or those having children before they turn 20, according to the CDC. At the same time, more women are waiting until their late 20s or into their 30s to have kids, bringing up the average age of first-time mothers.
"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," CDC researchers wrote in the report, which was released today.
Rosemarie Truglio, of New York City, is one of those women who waited to become a mom. Getting married a few months shy of her 40th birthday, she kept busy in her 20s and 30s attending graduate school and focusing on her career. Her only son turns 12 on Friday, and she said the one regret she has about waiting to become a mother is that she was unable to have more children.
"It was always very clear that I wanted a child, to have a family," said Truglio, who is now 54. "But I didn’t want to be a single mother, so I waited to find the right man to marry to start a family with."
A senior vice president of curriculum and content at Sesame Street, Truglio earned a doctorate in developmental and child psychology at the age of 30.
"I have no regrets as a mother, and I know my son has never lost out on anything due to my age," she said.
The average age when a U.S. woman has her first child was 26.3 in 2014, which is up from 24.9 in 2000, the CDC study found. Government tracking for the age of new mothers started around 1970, when the average age was 21.4.
Overall, the average age of first-time moms has risen in every state and in the District of Columbia from 2000 to 2014, and across every racial and ethnic group, the study found. Asian and Pacific Islander mothers had the oldest average age, 29.5, for when they had their first child, while American Indian or Alaska native mothers were the youngest at age 23.1.
Melissa Kearney, a professor of economics at the University of Maryland, said the trends identified by the CDC are likely the result of widespread changes in society as opposed to any specific public policy initiatives.
"Young women across the nation and across all races and ethnic groups are waiting longer," she said.
