More Than 90 Women Over 50 Gave Birth Last Year As The Average Age Of Motherhood Is Increasing | HuffPost Life

More Than 90 Women Aged Over 50 Gave Birth Last Year

Amy Packham— The Huffington Post UK/PA

|

There were more than 90 women aged 50 and over who gave birth between April 2014 and the end of May 2015, although the numbers are falling year on year, new data shows.

There were 94 births from women aged 50+ last year, compared to 107 in 2013/14 and 114 in 2012/13, according to new figures on women giving birth in English hospitals collected by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC).

Most births were to women aged between 30 and 34, with 194,086 babies being born to women in this age group. This is very similar to the previous year's figure of 194,398. Overall, women in their 30s accounted for 47% of all deliveries.

A spokesperson for the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (Bpas) said, according to PA: "The overall average age of motherhood is increasing as women wait longer to begin their families, and complete them later."

The most popular age group of women giving birth was 30-34

"Maternity services need be organised to ensure they can cater for the slightly different needs of older women, who may be more likely to deliver by Caesarean section," the spokeswoman continued.

"A small number of women in their 50s gave birth last year. Accidental pregnancies have long occurred among women of this age, who may well believe they are no longer fertile, but they may also be the result of assisted conception.

"Whatever the age a woman decides to have a baby, her choices should be supported, and she should have access to the best possible maternity care and postnatal support."

Between April 2014 and May 2015 there were also high numbers of women in their 40s having babies. There were 23,194 births to women aged 40 to 44 and 1,298 births to women aged 45 to 49 in 2014/15.

The number of births to girls aged 14 and under also rose slightly from 133 in 2013/2014 to 143 in 2014/2015.

The latest data also showed there were 23,262 births to teenagers aged 15 to 19, slightly down on the figure of 26,306 the previous year.

Overall, there were 636,600 babies born, a 1.6% drop since 2013/14 when there were 646,900.

Natika H Halil, chief executive of the Family Planning Association (FPA), said, according to PA: "Figures from the Office for National Statistics released last year showed the number of women over 40 having a baby has risen fourfold in the past three decades.

"With that in mind it is important for women who are not planning to have children, or have completed their family, to continue to use contraception until menopause.

"When we see stories in the media about women struggling to conceive as they get older, it is easy to assume that as you get into your late 30s, 40s and beyond you might not need to use contraception any more."

9 Birth Practices From Around The World

Government-sponsored baby showers(01 of09)

Since the 1930s, expectant mothers in Finland have received what amounts to a "welcome to the world, baby!" care package from their government. It includes clothing, a sleeping bag, bibs, first aid basics and, yes, even a cardboard box that can be used as a crib.

"Mothers have a choice between taking the box, or a cash grant, currently set at 140 euros," according to the BBC, "but 95 percent opt for the box as it's worth much more." (credit:Associated Press)

Sitting up for labor(02 of09)

Though the practice of requiring women to lay flat on their backs has increasingly come under fire ("These days enlightened practitioners -- and better informed moms-to-be -- aren't taking labor lying down, or even in one place," What To Expect says), it's still the norm in many hospital across the United States, as well as in parts of Europe.

Not so in parts of Asia, Africa and Central and South America, the World Health Organization reports. In these countries, women move through various upright positions or squat while in labor. And that's a good thing: According to Rodale, research has shown that sitting, standing and kneeling during labor (or all of the above) can shorten early labor, and also decrease the need for epidural anesthesia. (credit:Getty)

A laughing (gas) matter(03 of09)

Though epidural or spinal anesthesia is the most common type of pain medication used by laboring women in the U.S. (CDC data from 2008 showed 61 percent of women from 27 states who gave birth vaginally had epidural or spinal anesthesia), nitrous oxide, or "laughing gas," is far more popular overseas. It's used by roughly 60 percent of women in the United Kingdom, and up to half of laboring women in Australia, Finland and Canada. According to a 2012 review by the Cochrane group, it's a safe and effective option, but experts say it is unlikely to become popular in the U.S. anytime soon, in part because hospitals do not have the correct equipment or ventilation.

As Slate reports, women who use laughing gas during childbirth -- inhaling it through a mask -- say it doesn't altogether eliminate the pain, but distracts them from it. (credit:Getty)

Seaweed soup, anyone?(04 of09)

Many cultures have customs dictating what women should and shouldn't eat during pregnancy, childbirth and beyond, but few foods are as closely tied to labor and delivery as miyeokguk, or Korean seaweed soup. Also called "birthday soup," the nutritious, hearty broth continues to be one of the first things women eat after delivery. "In the olden days," women also used to eat it for a month prior to giving birth -- and some still do, the Korea Tourism Organization explains. (The tradition in Korean culture was inspired by whales eating seaweed -- which is high in various vitamins and nutrients -- after giving birth, Time reports.) "Eating [this soup] on birthdays is seen as a way to remind children not to forget the pain of childbirth and to appreciate the care given to them by their mother." (credit:Stacey Newman via Getty Images)

Pride of place for the umbilical cord and placenta(05 of09)

In many places around the world, the umbilical cord and placenta -- which support the baby by providing oxygen and nutrients during pregnancy -- also have strong symbolic significance, and are treated accordingly after birth. In Turkey, for example, it's not uncommon for women to bury babies' umbilical cords at schools or mosques -- in the hope that their children will be devoted to education or religion -- or keep them at home, to ensure devotion to the family. In some parts of Africa, the placenta is buried in an important spot -- often under a tree, at home or in an open field.

In the U.S., the placenta is generally discarded by the hospital or birthing center where a woman delivers, although some women save theirs and consume it in pill form, believing it helps boost well-being (a controversial claim). (credit:Getty)

A month to rest(06 of09)

"Sitting the month,” a custom observed in China and Vietnam, mandates that women stay largely confined to their homes for at least the first few weeks after giving birth. "New mothers are pretty much expected to just sit around in pajamas for a month to recover from childbirth," NPR reports. Moms also follow specific guidelines about what they can and can't eat and drink (nothing too hot or cold) or do (take a shower).

As The Daily Beast explained in its takedown of the U.S.'s postpartum practices, "some version of the lie-in is still prevalent all over Asia, Africa, the Middle East and particular parts of Europe; in these places, where women have found the postpartum regimens of their own mothers and grandmothers slightly outdated, they've revised them." Definitely trickier to pull off in the U.S., one of the few countries left with no federally-mandated paid maternity leave. (credit:Getty)

Postnatal care down there(07 of09)

Postnatal care is pretty robust in France, as writer Claire Lundberg discovered when she delivered abroad, and can include something known as "la rééducation périnéale" -- therapy designed to help strengthen or "re-train" the vagina in the hopes of avoiding the pelvic problems that can plague women after birth. The service has been funded by French social security since 1985. (credit:Getty)

Saying "no" to sex(08 of09)

Here in the U.S., many women get the green light to have sex again at their six week postpartum check-up, but in Papua New Guinea, mothers wait much longer before they have intercourse. It is a common cultural practice for women to remain abstinent until they wean their babies, whether that takes weeks, months or even years. (credit:Getty)

Paid leave, guaranteed(09 of09)

Unlike their peers in the U.S. -- where, again, there is no federally-mandated paid maternity leave and many women are guaranteed a mere 12 weeks of job protection -- new mothers (and increasingly also fathers) elsewhere in the world are sometimes guaranteed more than a year of paid time off. In Sweden, Germany, Norway and Denmark, parents are offered more than 50 weeks of paid leave, which they can divvy up between mom and dad after birth or adoption, while in the Czech Republic, mothers or fathers are able to take up to 48 months of paid parental leave, according to Mercer, the global consulting firm. (credit:Getty)

Related

uk lifestyle uk parents mums birth parents-to-be

Suggest a correction

|