The study was conducted by the team behind personalised vitamin service www.Vitl.com who asked just over 2,300 UK women who have had children in the past five years why they chose to have children when they did. The team carried out the research for Maternal Mental Health Month (May), finding that 32 is the average age women are now deciding to have their children.
More than half of the mothers surveyed (55%) were aged between 30-35 years old when they had their first child. Whilst over half (58%) said that they chose to wait to have children until 30+, almost one in five (17%) said that they had conception struggles throughout their twenties.
Of those who stated they’d made the conscious decision to hold off on having children until their thirties, some of the most common reasons for doing so included:
- I wanted to focus on my career in my twenties – 65%
- I wanted to be in a stable relationship before committing to a child – 45%
- I saw more women in their thirties having children later in their lives – 38%
- I wanted to make sure my own mental health was in order before having a child – 22%
- I didn’t feel prepared to have a child – 15%
Some mothers said that seeing women in the public eye such as Megan Markle, aged 37 when she had her first born, made them feel ‘reassured’ that they wouldn’t be judged for choosing to have a child in their 30s.
All of the mothers were also asked if they had experienced any mental health issues post-birth, with 55% claiming they had ‘felt anxious’ and a further 30% claiming they had ‘experienced feelings of depression’.
Commenting on the findings, Elizabeth Stewart, Registered Nutritionist at www.Vitl.com, said:
“It’s essential that all new mothers get the support they need from their friends, family and GP or pregnancy mental health charities. These are interesting findings and we’re grateful to the women who shared their family planning decisions with us”.
