The latest figures from Statistics Sweden (SCB) show that in 2022, more children were born to mothers aged 45 or older than to teenage mothers. According to Lena Lundkvist, a demographer at Statistics Sweden, this is the first time this has happened. The trend towards having children later in life started in the 60s with the introduction of the birth control pill. While having children at an older age may involve health risks, it has socio-economic benefits such as better prepared mothers with better incomes, social resources, networks and greater personal maturity. Gunnar Andersson, a professor of demography at Stockholm University, notes that having children at an older age may not necessarily be planned but may occur due to a new life situation or a suitable partner being found later in life. The Nordic countries stand out in terms of the shift towards having children at increasingly older ages due in part to the increased possibility of getting help via assisted fertilization.
Is it mother or grandmother who collects from the preschool? Perhaps mother, the same age as grandmother could be in the past.
In 2022, 410 children were born where the mother was 19 or younger. At the same time, 537 children were born to mothers who were 45 or older, according to the latest figures from Statistics Sweden (SCB). Thus, more newborn children now have a mother in the older age group – than a teenage mother.
– This is the first year it looks like this, notes Lena Lundkvist, demographer at Statistics Sweden.
Started with the pill
However, the trend towards having children later in life has been going on for decades, and started in the 60s when the modern birth control pill came along. Almost 8,800 children were born to teenage mothers in 1968, compared to just over 400 last year.
– Of the teenage pregnancies, many are unplanned. At the same time, childbearing is becoming more and more well-planned, you wait until you have acquired livelihood and education. So it is not so strange that it looks like this, says Gunnar Andersson, professor of demography at Stockholm University.
The Nordic countries stand out in terms of the shift towards having children at increasingly older ages. Among other things, the increased possibility of getting help via assisted fertilization comes into play here.
– The upper limit is not as “fixed” anymore. Previously, there was perhaps an occasional 49-year-old. But with the new treatment methods, children are born to mothers at ages where it was not biologically possible before, says Gunnar Andersson.
Positive effects
However, older mothers are a recent trend. At the end of the 19th century, 12 percent of all women who gave birth were over 40. It was before contraception, abortion rights – and in a farming society where many children were often an asset on the farm.
Having children after 45 is usually not just about the woman wanting to establish herself in the labor market and get the right financial conditions, according to Gunnar Andersson. Often other things in the life situation come into play.
– It may be that you do not find a suitable partner until you are a little older, or have a new relationship. You don’t plan to wait to have children until you’re 45. But there may be new life situations.
Having children at an older age can involve some health risks. But socio-economically, positive effects have mainly been seen, according to Gunnar Andersson.
– Children born to slightly older mothers are often better prepared than children born to very young mothers. The mothers have better incomes, social resources with a larger network and greater personal maturity.
Gunnar Andersson, professor of demography at Stockholm University. Photo: Leila Zoubir / Stockholm University
Petra Mede: The comedian and actor Petra Mede had her second child in the summer of 2022, aged 52.
Titiyo Jah: Artist Titiyo Jah had her second child in 2017 at the age of 50.
Naomi Campbell: British supermodel Naomi Campbell became a mother for the first time in May 2021, aged 50.
Cameron Diaz: Actor Cameron Diaz became a mother for the first time at the age of 47 in December 2019.
Hilary Swank: In the fall of 2022, it became known that the 48-year-old actor Hilary Swank is expecting twins with husband Philip Schneider.
In 2021, the average age of first-time parents was about 30 years for mothers and about 32 years for fathers.
The oldest are first-time mothers in Stockholm County, where the average age in 2021 was 31 years. The youngest were the mothers in Södermanland county, where the average age was 28 to have their first child.
Source: Statistics Sweden