Illinois' older moms
By Carly Mallenbaum and Carrie Shepherd, Axios News
At this rate, reality TV shows are going to be starved to find unwed teen mothers! I'm glad Jerry Springer isn't alive to see this.
Data: CDC Wonder; Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals
More than half of Illinois babies born last year had birth mothers in their 30s and older, according to provisional CDC data.
Why it matters: In the last few years, age 35 has gone from the start of "geriatric pregnancy," to potentially a maternal-age sweet spot.
By the numbers: 30 is the average age of a woman giving birth in Illinois, per 2023 data.
That's the national average — and slightly younger than states with the highest maternal ages such as Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey, with averages above 31.
Regions with higher income and education levels "are correlated with increased advanced maternal age," partly because women there are deliberately delaying pregnancy for economic reasons, says Jane van Dis, OB-GYN and assistant professor at the University of Rochester.
Roughly 37% of Illinois residents have a bachelor's degree or higher, and the state's median household income hovers around $78,400, per census data. That's compared with 34% and $75,149 nationwide.
The intrigue: 35-year-olds received more prenatal monitoring and had a small decrease in prenatal mortality compared with even those a few months younger, according to a 2021 JAMA Health Forum study.
Some research suggests that being 35+ and pregnant could lead to better brainpower after menopause and a smaller gender wage gap.
Catch up quick: 35 became the start of "advanced maternal age" decades ago, thanks to studies on the then-new invasive genetic test called amniocentesis.
But that's a "dated paradigm" and "there's nothing really particularly magic" about age 35, says Alison Cahill, professor and associate dean of translation research at the University of Texas at Austin's Dell Medical School.
Reality check: Risks, including possible miscarriage, increase much more after age 40, compared with 35.
Yes, but: Women considering having kids by their mid-30s should be acquainted with their own physiology and possible fertility challenges "much earlier than 35," van Dis says.