Similar increases observed for higher-order births; increase in mean age at first birth seen in all racial and ethnic groups
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, June 16, 2025 (HealthDay News) — From 2016 to 2023, there was an increase in the mean age of mothers at first birth and at higher-order births, according to the June 13 National Vital Statistics Reports, a publication from the National Center for Health Statistics.
Andrea D. Brown, Ph.D., M.P.H., from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, and colleagues updated previous analyses by examining trends in mean maternal age by birth order and presenting trends in mean age at first birth using data from the National Vital Statistics System comprising all birth records in the United States for 2016 to 2023.
The researchers found that from 2016 to 2023, there was an increase in the mean age of mothers at first birth, from 26.6 to 27.5 years. For higher-order births, similar increases were seen, with mean age at birth increasing by 1.0 and 0.9 years for second births and for third and higher-order births, respectively. An increase in mean age at first birth of 0.4 to 1.4 years was seen for all racial and ethnic groups. Across all levels of urbanicity, from large metropolitan counties to rural counties, there was an increase seen in mean maternal age at first birth by 0.7 to 0.9 year. Mothers in large metropolitan counties had the highest mean age at first birth in 2023 (28.5 years), while the lowest age was seen for those in noncore counties (24.8 years).
“The mean age of mothers at childbirth in the United States increased from 2016 through 2023, continuing the long-term trend toward delayed childbearing,” the authors write. “By 2023, first-time mothers were almost one year older on average than they were in 2016.”
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