Is it better to have babies in your 20s or 30s?

Q: Is 30 too early to have a baby?

In your early 30s, the chances youll be able to have a baby are still high. You still have a lot of high-quality eggs to offer, but your odds will start to decline steadily at this age. Your fecundity rate decreases gradually until age 32. At 37, it drops dramatically.

Table of Contents Show

It Might Be Easier To Conceive In Your 20s
You Might Be In A Better Place Financially In Your 30s
You Might Have An Easier Pregnancy In Your 20s
You Might Be More Likely To Have Multiples In Your 30s
You Might Be More Likely To Have A C-Section In Your 30s
You Might Recover More Quickly After Childbirth In Your 20s
Pregnancy Might Be Hard On Your Relationship In Your 20s
You Might Be Healthier If You Wait To Get Pregnant In Your 30s
Is it better to have kids in your 20's or 30's?
What is the healthiest age for a woman to have a baby?
Is it better to have kids in your 30s?
Is 30 too early to have a baby?

In 2016, for the first time ever, more American women had babies in their early 30s than in their 20s.
Giving birth at any age comes with changes — to your body and bank account.
Women in their 20s have a much higher chance of getting pregnant, for example, and a lower risk of conditions like gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and high blood pressure.
Studies suggest that women who wait until their 30s to give birth may be healthier later in life, live longer, and earn more income. They'll also be more likely to have twins.

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Following is a transcript of the video.

Narrator: American moms are starting a new trend. Thirties are now the new 20s. In 2016, for the first time ever, more American women had babies in their early 30s than in their 20s. And women are now 25% older when they give birth compared to 50 years ago. But isn't having kids at an older age harder on your body? And couldn't that mean more risk to the baby? Come to think of it, what is the difference between giving birth in your 20s versus your 30s?

Giving birth at any age is a big change. For one, you'll have a child to support. They cost the average household around $230,000 to raise, but there are some major differences based on when you give birth. Take fertility: Between the ages of 20 and 24, women have an 86% chance of conceiving after trying for a year. But that chance falls to around 50% in your late 30s.

And then there's your health. 20-somethings have a lower chance of miscarrying and of conditions like gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and high blood pressure. But when it comes to your health later in life, waiting until your 30s to give birth is better. Research shows that moms who first gave birth in their early 30s report higher energy, better fitness, and fewer aches and pains compared to moms who first gave birth in their early 20s.

And that might help explain another scientific finding. Women who have kids in their 30s might also live longer. According to a paper published in 2015, women who had their last child after age 33 were twice as likely to live past 95 compared to women who had their last child before their 30 th birthday.

And perhaps they'll also have more money to spend in those extra years. A Danish study found that college-educated mothers who were 31 to 34 when they gave birth earned around $5,000 more income over their lifetime compared to the average woman with a college degree, whereas college-educated women who had their first kid before 25 earned around $80,000 less.

Of course, that's just moms. What about the kids? If their moms gave birth in their 30s instead of their 20s, those kids might be safer, smarter, or even taller. On top of that, there might be more of them. That's right, because if you wait until your 30s, you're more likely to have twins. Older women have higher levels of a hormone called FSH, which stimulates the ovaries. Normally, women release just enough FSH to ovulate or release one egg, but near menopause, they produce a ton of it, which can cause two eggs to ovulate and ultimately result in twins.

Now, whether having twins is a benefit, that's up to you. But one thing's for sure, whether you have kids at 21 or 35, you will never be the same again.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This video was originally published in June 2019.

It Might Be Easier To Conceive In Your 20s

According to the Mayo Clinic, your fertility declines as you age because the quantity and quality of eggs decreases. So, ACOG notes, it can be harder to get pregnant in your 30s, especially past age 32. According to BabyCenter, egg quality not only can impact your fertility, but it can also increase your risk of miscarriage from 10 percent in your 20s to 18 percent once you reach your mid 30s.

You Might Be In A Better Place Financially In Your 30s

As Ann Crittenden, author of The Price of Motherhood, told BabyCenter, when it comes to being able to afford costs related to your pregnancy, birth, and having babies, you might be better off waiting until your 30s to get pregnant. This is because you are more likely to be better-established in the workforce, and better able to weather the impact of parenthood on your career when you are older. According to Crittenden, "Women who have their children later in life have higher lifetime earnings and a wider range of opportunities than younger mothers."

You Might Have An Easier Pregnancy In Your 20s

As reported by Psychology Today, the optimal age for getting pregnancy, health-wise, is in your 20s. According to ACOG, women past age 35 are more likely to have health conditions like gestational diabetes and hypertension, birth complications like preterm labor, and babies with a chromosomal issues — the risk of which increases from 1 in 525 at age 20 to 1 in 200 at age 35.

You Might Be More Likely To Have Multiples In Your 30s

According to ACOG, women in their 30s are more likely to have multiples, like twins or triplets, than women in their 30s, even if they don't use reproductive technology to get pregnant.

You Might Be More Likely To Have A C-Section In Your 30s

You Might Recover More Quickly After Childbirth In Your 20s

When it comes to recovering from pregnancy, OB-GYN Steven Goldstein, MD told Parents that younger moms might have an easier time with physical recovery after childbirth.

Pregnancy Might Be Hard On Your Relationship In Your 20s

As psychotherapist Leah Seidler told BabyCenter, if you get pregnant in your 20s you might have a harder time coping with the way pregnancy might change your relationship with your partner, because you have less experience dealing with challenges and stress as a couple.

You Might Be Healthier If You Wait To Get Pregnant In Your 30s

One study published in Journal of Health and Social Behavior found that while getting pregnant in your 20s might be biologically optimal, it might actually be better for your long-term health to wait. Moms who delayed their first birth until about age 34 were found to have better health than those who had babies early. Likewise, a study published in the Journal of Public Health found that women who waited to have their first child in their 30s live longer than those who did in their 20s.

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Is it better to have kids in your 20's or 30's?

Women in their 20s have a much higher chance of getting pregnant, for example, and a lower risk of conditions like gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and high blood pressure. Studies suggest that women who wait until their 30s to give birth may be healthier later in life, live longer, and earn more income.

What is the healthiest age for a woman to have a baby?

Experts say the best time to get pregnant is between your late 20s and early 30s. This age range is associated with the best outcomes for both you and your baby. One study pinpointed the ideal age to give birth to a first child as 30.5. Your age is just one factor that should go into your decision to get pregnant.

Is it better to have kids in your 30s?

Advantages of getting pregnant in your 30s You may have a higher income and more financial security because you've had more time to establish your career. Studies have found that women who became first-time moms at or after age 33 have greater odds of living to age 95 (compared to younger moms).

Is 30 too early to have a baby?

In your early 30s, the chances you'll be able to have a baby are still high. You still have a lot of high-quality eggs to offer, but your odds will start to decline steadily at this age. Your fecundity rate decreases gradually until age 32. At 37, it drops dramatically.