If you’ve been seeing more and more pregnancy announcements from friends and celebrities in their 40s, you’re not imagining things.
On March 6, 2025, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) released a report analyzing U.S. birth data. It found that women aged 40 and older are now having more babies than teenage mothers.
That’s a big shift from even a generation ago — and it says a lot about how our priorities and life timelines are changing.
What used to be a surprising rarity — becoming a parent in your 40s — has become more common than teen motherhood. In fact, the percentage of U.S. births to women over 40 has climbed steadily, while births to teen moms have dropped to a historic low.
Here’s a closer look at the numbers, what’s driving this trend, and why it’s a source of both fascination and empowerment for many.
Teen births reach an all-time low
For decades, teenage mothers accounted for a significant slice of all births in the country. But in recent years, the teen birth rate has been falling dramatically.
As noted by researchers in the latest findings, just 4% of babies born in the U.S. now have teen moms — down from around 12.8% in 1990. That’s a huge drop in a relatively short amount of time.
Experts generally see this as good news. Declining teen pregnancies mean fewer young women facing the challenges of juggling adolescence and parenthood.
Better access to contraception, more comprehensive sex education, and cultural shifts that encourage teens to postpone having children are all believed to play roles.
While different regions and communities show variations in these stats, the overall downward trajectory of teen births stands out as one of the most notable changes in American family life over the past few decades.
Women over 40 on the rise
At the same time teen births are plummeting, births to women over 40 keep climbing.
According to the report, about 4.1% of all U.S. babies are now born to mothers in their 40s—just edging out the teenage birth share. Statistically, that means older moms have overtaken teen moms for the first time in recorded history.
What’s behind this surge in later pregnancies?
This surge is part of a broader shift toward later motherhood. Women in their late 30s and early 40s are more likely than ever before to have children, a pattern that’s reflected across multiple studies.
Some of it comes down to lifestyle choices: many women are delaying marriage or long-term partnerships, prioritizing education, advancing in their careers, or simply waiting until they feel 100% ready to raise a child.
Others are building financial security or achieving personal goals first, then deciding it’s time to start a family—even if that means embarking on pregnancy at 40 or beyond.
Another factor is technology. Medical science has made tremendous strides in fertility treatments and prenatal care, making pregnancy after 40 more viable than it once was. Procedures like IVF, egg freezing, and more advanced prenatal screening tools have given women the chance to conceive later than nature might have allowed in the past. While these options can be expensive or have varying rates of success, their mere existence broadens the window for motherhood.
Why women are waiting longer to have kids
This trend of delayed motherhood reflects major social and cultural changes.
One change is in priorities and expectations for women’s lives.
Many of today’s women grew up with the message to focus on education and career first, with the idea that family could come later. That outlook has encouraged women to invest in themselves during their 20s and 30s – earning degrees, advancing in jobs, traveling, and finding their identity – before settling down to have kids.
Society has gradually become more accepting of women having children in their late 30s or 40s, so the old pressure to “have babies early or not at all” has eased up. There’s a sense that there’s no need to rush into motherhood if you’re not ready.
At the same time, birth control and family planning options have given women more control over when (and if) they become pregnant. With better access to effective contraception, women can choose to delay childbearing until it fits their life.
Additionally, some women simply feel more emotionally prepared to be mothers at 35 or 40 than they would have at 20. Being a more mature parent can mean more life experience, stability, and confidence in raising a child.
We often see public figures and everyday women alike having first babies later in life, which further normalizes the idea that there’s no “right” age to become a mom.
However, it’s important to acknowledge that not all delays are purely by choice – some are influenced by societal pressures and lack of support.
In the U.S., starting a family at a younger age can be daunting if you don’t have financial security or workplace support. L
ack of paid maternity leave, expensive childcare, and inflexible jobs can push women to postpone motherhood because they “can’t afford not to” wait.
In other words, many women delay having children until they feel they can realistically balance a baby with work and finances.
The realities of later-in-life pregnancy
Having a baby in your 40s is increasingly common, but it does come with some real biological considerations.
Fertility naturally declines with age – by the mid-30s and beyond, women have fewer eggs, and the eggs that remain are more likely to have genetic quirks.
After age 35, it can become more challenging to get pregnant, and the risks of miscarriage and certain birth complications start to rise significantly. For example, women in their late 30s or 40s face higher chances of pregnancy loss or chromosomal conditions in the baby compared to younger moms.
Doctors label pregnancies at 35 and up as “advanced maternal age” mainly because of these statistical risk factors, not to be scary but to ensure extra care is taken.
That said, knowing the risks is not the same as saying later motherhood is doomed to be difficult.
Every woman is different, and many women in their late 30s and 40s have healthy pregnancies and babies. In fact, as the number of older moms grows, the medical community has gotten better at supporting them, and research into advanced maternal age has expanded, making doctors more prepared than ever to help women have safe pregnancies in their 40s.
Women are also increasingly informed — they understand the statistics but also know that those are just averages, not a crystal ball for any one person’s experience.
As one mom in her late 30s put it, hearing the stats is intimidating at first, but it’s also clear that “it’s not everybody” – many do just fine.
The bottom line is that while later pregnancies require mindful care, they are very much possible, and success stories are more common than ever.
Embracing motherhood at any age
This milestone – women over 40 having more babies than teens – is a testament to the changing landscape of motherhood.
It shows that there’s no expiration date on the desire to have a family.
Women today are increasingly carving out their own timelines, whether that means having kids in their early 20s, waiting until 40, or deciding not to have children at all.
There’s a growing understanding that each person’s journey to motherhood (or choice not to be a mother) is personal and valid.
It’s an empowering message: you don’t have to follow the traditional script.
For those who dream of having a child later in life, the statistics are encouraging – more women are doing it, and doing it successfully, than ever before.
And for society as a whole, this trend is a reminder to support moms at every age.
Whether a woman becomes a parent at 18 or 43, she deserves access to good healthcare, workplace flexibility, and community support so she and her child can thrive.
As more women embrace motherhood in their 40s, it challenges outdated labels (so long, “geriatric pregnancy”) and proves that moms can be amazing at any age.
