Age of first-time mothers hits record high in blue states as birth rates keep falling
American women are having children later than ever with birth rates hitting record lows and the divide between red and blue states becoming even more stark.A new analysis of birth...
By Fox News · Fox News
American women are having children later than ever with birth rates hitting record lows and the divide between red and blue states becoming even more stark. A new analysis of birth rates highlights Washington, D.C., and Mississippi as emblematic of trends among first-time mothers. The findings highlight how education, economic opportunities, costs of living and access to reproductive healthcare are reshaping when — and if — Americans start families. But it's also hard to ignore the party-line divide between areas with the highest age of first-time mothers and the lowest. The top ten states with the highest average age of first-time moms all turned blue in the past five presidential elections ; meanwhile, nine of the ten states with the lowest age have turned red in those same elections. Data shows that Washington, D.C. — where three-quarters of voters are registered Democrat — has the highest average age of women becoming moms for the first time at 30.8 while Mississippi, a deep red state often ranked poorest in the U.S., is lowest at 24.7. In the decades following the 1960s sexual revolution, which ushered in oral contraceptives and a challenge to traditional gender roles, American women have steadily delayed motherhood. The average age of first-time mothers rose from 21 in 1972 to 27.5 in 2024, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And the analysis breaking down the age disparities between different jurisdictions show a significant six-year gap between the states where the youngest and oldest first-time moms are living. ROGAN WARNS OF US ‘POPULATION COLLAPSE’ DUE TO TOXIC CHEMICALS AND DELAYED PARENTHOOD TANK BIRTH RATES In Washington, D.C., later motherhood is closely tied to higher levels of education, greater career opportunities and broader access to reproductive healthcare. In contrast, women tend to start families at younger ages in Mississippi, where educational achievements are lower and economic opportunities are mo…