The Rise of the Older Mother

Abstract

In Australia, declining fertility among younger women is partly off-set by increasing fertility among women over 30. Women born in 1971 are projected to have an average of 1.9 children each, with almost half their children born after the age of 30. Levels of childlessness for these women will be much less than previously estimated. Future levels of fertility will depend on whether birth rates at older ages continue to rise. From a demographic perspective there is potential for further increase, since probably half of women are still fecund at age 40. From an individual perspective, women should have children before age 35 if circumstances are conducive.