Ideal Age for Motherhood

Scientists consider 34 years old to be the ideal age for a woman to give birth to her first child. It is at this age that an optimal balance is achieved between a woman’s health and her material well-being, says Professor John Mirowski from the University of Texas.

After studying the medical data of 2,200 women, Mirowski came to the conclusion that delaying the formation of a family and the birth of the first child has a rational basis. The main problems with women's health begin to decrease from the age of 22 and by the age of 34 there are fewer of them; from the age of 35 the reverse process is observed.

That is why Mirowski states: “At any age, a woman who gives birth to her first child at age 34 will be 14 years younger, in terms of health, than someone who gives birth at age 18.” This happens because as a woman ages, she takes her health more seriously, behaves less riskily than she did at 20, and usually has a regular sexual partner.

This is confirmed by sociological data: for example, in the USA the average age when married women give birth to their first child is 25 years old, in the UK it is 30 years old.

However, this point of view is not shared by many experts. Thus, Cecilia Piper from the University of Oxford emphasizes that a woman’s fertility begins to decline from the age of 35, and accordingly, there may be problems with fertilization. In addition, during breastfeeding, ovulation is suppressed, which means that a woman who gave birth to her first child at 34 will not be able to have a second child until she is 37-38 years old, and at this age it is most difficult to maintain a pregnancy.