California has fourth oldest new mothers, study finds
New York has the oldest new mothers on average
– A recent analysis by the Birth Injury Lawyers Group, utilizing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has identified the states with the oldest and youngest average ages of new mothers. The study found that California ranks fourth in the nation for the oldest new mothers, based on birth rates in the 40-44 age group.
New York has the oldest new mothers on average, with a birth rate of 17.5 births per 1,000 women in the 40-44 age group. New Jersey has the second oldest new mothers on average, with 17 births per 1,000 women in the 40-44 age group, while Hawaii is third, with 16.5 births per 1,000 women in the 40-44 age group.
Arkansas has the youngest new mothers on average, with a birth rate of 26.5 births per 1,000 women in the 15-19 age group, nearly twice the national average.
The states with the youngest mothers were determined by the estimated birth rate of the combined 15 to 19-year-old age group, and the state with the oldest mothers was determined by the estimated birth rate of the 40 to 44-year-old age group. Birth rates are the number of births per 1,000 women in a specified age group estimated in each area.
The states with the oldest new mothers on average
- New York – New York has the oldest new mothers on average, with a birth rate of 17.5 births per 1,000 women in the 40-44 age group. This is 45.8% above the national average birth rate for women in the 40-44 age group. The US average is 12 births per 1,000 women in the 40-44 age group.
- New Jersey – New Jersey has the second oldest new mothers on average, with a birth rate of 17 births per 1,000 women in the 40-44 age group. This birth rate is 41.7% above the national average.
- Hawaii – Hawaii is third, with a birth rate of 16.5 births per 1,000 women in the 40-44 age group, 37.5% more than the national average.
- California – In fourth is California. The Golden State has a birth rate of 16 births per 1,000 women in the 40-44 age group, 33.3% more than the national average of 12 births per 1,000 women in the 40-44 age group.
- Massachusetts – With a birth rate of 15.4 births per 1,000 women in the 40-44 age group, Massachusetts is fifth for the state with the oldest new mothers on average. Massachusetts’s birth rate is 28.3% above the national average for women in the 40-44 age group.
- Maryland – Maryland is sixth, with a birth rate of 15.3 births per 1,000 women in the 40-44 age group, 27.5% above the national average.
- Alaska and Connecticut – In joint seventh are Alaska and Connecticut, both with a birth rate of 13.3 births per 1,000 women in the 40-44 age group. These birth rates are 10.8% more than the national average.
- Virginia – With a birth rate of 13.2 births per 1,000 women in the 40-44 age group, Virginia is ninth. This is 10% more than the national average for women in the 40-44 age group.
- Rhode Island – In tenth for the state with the oldest new mothers on average is Rhode Island. The Ocean State has a birth rate of 12.7 births per 1,000 women in the 40-44 age group, 5.8% above the national average.
The states with the youngest new mothers on average
- Arkansas – Arkansas has the youngest new mothers on average, with the highest birth rate in the 15 to 19 age group in America. Arkansas has a birth rate of 26.5 births per 1,000 women in the 15 to 19 age group, a value 90.6% above the national average of 13.9 births per 1,000 women in the 15 to 19-year-old age group.
- Mississippi – Mississippi is second for the youngest new mothers on average, with a birth rate of 25.6 births per 1,000 women in the 15-19 age group. This is 84.2% above the national average.
- Louisiana – Louisiana has the third highest birth rate for women in the 15-19 age group. The Pelican State has a birth rate 76.3% above the national average at 24.5 births per 1,000 women in the 15-19 age group.
- Oklahoma – A birth rate of 24.1 births per 1,000 women in the 15-19 age group sees Oklahoma at fourth for the youngest new mothers on average. This value is 73.4% above the national average birth rate of 13.9 for women in the 15-19 age group.
- Alabama – In fifth is Alabama, with a birth rate of 22.9 births per 1,000 women in the 15-19 age group, 64.7% more than the national average.
- Kentucky – Kentucky has the sixth highest birth rate for women in the 15-19 age group. There are 22.3 births per 1,000 women in the 15-19 age group in the Bluegrass State, 60.4% above the national average.
- Tennessee – Tennessee is seventh, with 21.5 births per 1,000 women in the 15-19 age group, 54.7% above the national average of 13.9 births per 1,000 women in the 15-19 age group.
- West Virginia – In eighth is West Virginia. The Mountain State’s birth rate for women in the 15-19 age group is 50.4% above the national average at 20.9 births per 1,000.
- Texas – With a birth rate of 20.3 births per 1,000 women in the 15-19 age group, Texas is ninth. The Lone Star state’s figure is 46% above the national average of 13.9 births per 1,000 women in the 15-19 age bracket.
- New Mexico – Wrapping up the ten states with the youngest new mothers is New Mexico. There are 19 births per 1,000 women in the 15-19 age group in New Mexico, 36.7% above the national average.
“The age at which mothers have children can provide insight into many topics that can influence when people decide to have children,” Bob Goldwater from Birth Injury Lawyers Group says, “Overall, women in America tend to have children most frequently between 30 and 34, with women between 25 and 29 having children second most frequently.
“More women are giving birth later in life than in the past as there is less societal pressure to settle down and start a family young, plus modern medicine and health practices allow women to have children more easily at older ages than before. Older mothers may have also chosen to focus on their careers or to wait until they are more secure financially to have their children. These factors are likely to be strongest in New York, which has the highest birth rate for women aged 40-44.
“However, despite these changing societal standards, many children are born to young mothers. This is most pronounced in Arkansas, which has the highest birth rate for women aged 15 to 19.”
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