There are now more women giving birth in their 40s than teen pregnancies

For the first time, there are now more new mums over the age of 40 than there are teen mums.

Research into the ages of new mums over the past two years has found that there has been a drop off in new mums under the age of 19. On the other hand, there has been a significant rise in the number of mums having children in their forties. According to the Office for National Statistics, in the UK alone 55 per cent of mums going into labour in 2017 were over the age of 30 and 48 per cent over the age of 40. 2017 also saw the lowest births from teen mums on record since 1938. So what caused the sudden shift? Improved sexual education and access to contraception are leading to fewer teen pregnancies, while the rising cost of living is causing most women to wait when it comes to having children until their 30s and 40s. Most first time mums in Ireland are now in their 30s giving us one of the oldest maternal ages in Europe.