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And doesnt this say that the average maternal age was 23/patenal 30--not the "average age of first child" which would be lower. The average age of first child f

And doesnt this say that the average maternal age was 23/patenal 30--not the "average age of first child" which would be lower. The average age of first child for women is now over 30 in the us i think. So the difference is huge. (edit: corrected below)

metaphor 4y ago
> The average age of first child for women is now over 30 in the us i think. Less handwaving, more cites[1]. [1] https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsfg/key_statistics/b.htm#agefb https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsfg/key_statistics/b.htm#agefb
- concordDance 4y ago
  I'd like to commend you for adding actual data here! Really helps the discussion :)
- medvezhenok 4y ago
  Depends on which cohort you look at. For college-educated women, that age is closer to 30: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/01/15/for-most-highly-educated-women-motherhood-doesnt-start-until-the-30s/#:~:text=Some%2028%25%20became%20moms%20in,14%25%20were%20at%20least%2035 https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/01/15/for-most-hi.... Similar breakdown in red states vs blue states. Blue states have much older age of first child, on average (because of correlation with educational attainment). In fact the gap we should talk about is the gap between college-educated women and the rest (which stands at ~8 years)
- runsWphotons 4y ago
  yes thank you, i mixed up some things. the average age of giving birth is now 30 (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna27827 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna27827) which is (i think) the number being measured in the paper as 23 historically. So the increase is large. Also I am somewhat confused because other sources like the NYT from 2018 say the first birth number is 26...i wonder if the statistics you provided are skewed by younger motherhood for the older part of the 15-44 cohort? Here you can see in many cities the avg age of first birth IS 30+. The big divide is geographical and by college degree. These are 2018 numbers so it wouldve probably gone up a bit more since then (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/04/upshot/up-birth-age-gap.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/04/upshot/up-bir...)
  - runsWphotons 4y ago
    it would also be interesting to see recent statistics on foreign born mothers vs us born mothers...here is another source supporting that first motherhood is now 26+, not 23 as in cdc numbers:https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/06/28/u-s-women-are-postponing-motherhood-but-not-as-much-as-those-in-most-other-developed-nations/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/06/28/u-s-women-a...
    - runsWphotons 4y ago
      one last source for 26+ for first birth already in 2014: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db232.htm https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db232.htm the original cdc numbers cited are perhaps not best way to look at the matter, because they include women who were giving birth in 80s and 90s.

metaphor 4y ago

> The average age of first child for women is now over 30 in the us i think. Less handwaving, more cites[1]. [1] https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsfg/key_statistics/b.htm#agefb https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsfg/key_statistics/b.htm#agefb

concordDance 4y ago
I'd like to commend you for adding actual data here! Really helps the discussion :)
medvezhenok 4y ago
Depends on which cohort you look at. For college-educated women, that age is closer to 30: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/01/15/for-most-highly-educated-women-motherhood-doesnt-start-until-the-30s/#:~:text=Some%2028%25%20became%20moms%20in,14%25%20were%20at%20least%2035 https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/01/15/for-most-hi.... Similar breakdown in red states vs blue states. Blue states have much older age of first child, on average (because of correlation with educational attainment). In fact the gap we should talk about is the gap between college-educated women and the rest (which stands at ~8 years)
runsWphotons 4y ago
yes thank you, i mixed up some things. the average age of giving birth is now 30 (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna27827 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna27827) which is (i think) the number being measured in the paper as 23 historically. So the increase is large. Also I am somewhat confused because other sources like the NYT from 2018 say the first birth number is 26...i wonder if the statistics you provided are skewed by younger motherhood for the older part of the 15-44 cohort? Here you can see in many cities the avg age of first birth IS 30+. The big divide is geographical and by college degree. These are 2018 numbers so it wouldve probably gone up a bit more since then (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/04/upshot/up-birth-age-gap.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/04/upshot/up-bir...)
- runsWphotons 4y ago
  it would also be interesting to see recent statistics on foreign born mothers vs us born mothers...here is another source supporting that first motherhood is now 26+, not 23 as in cdc numbers:https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/06/28/u-s-women-are-postponing-motherhood-but-not-as-much-as-those-in-most-other-developed-nations/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/06/28/u-s-women-a...
  - runsWphotons 4y ago
    one last source for 26+ for first birth already in 2014: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db232.htm https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db232.htm the original cdc numbers cited are perhaps not best way to look at the matter, because they include women who were giving birth in 80s and 90s.