At the beginning of the century, just 2% of first time mothers were 35 years old or older. This has doubled from the year 2000 to the year 2019. In 2018, 1,500 women over age 35 had their first child. This figure is 137% higher than in 2000.
The average age to have a first child is now 24, while it was 22 just 19 years ago. This change of two years is statistically significant because of how fast it happened and that it had remained the same for decades.
The number of women who became mothers before the age of 35 decreased by 20% from 2000-2019. At the beginning of the century, 8 out of 10 women were mothers by their 35th birthday. Now only 6 out of 10 are. Teen pregnancies fell from 18% to 10% in this time period.
Some of the reasons women are choosing to postpone motherhood include wanting to finish studies or travel before having kids. Those who postpone motherhood tend to live with a partner in cantons with higher social development.
