Welcome to our newest incarnation, “Found In…” We will feature blog posts and articles found on other sites which address topics germane to and involving new midlife mothers. This is our first blog post…Found In…News Mirror – UK, by Danny Buckland ” Surge in mid-life mothers leave doctors worried over health risks” – 5/26/2010
The number of 40-year-old mothers has almost trebled over the last two decades.
Data published yesterday showed 26,976 40-year-olds had babies in 2009 compared with 9,336 in 1989 and 14,252 in 1999.Among mothers aged 35 to 39 there were 114,288 births in 2009, up 41% on 1999.
It means that the average age of a firsttime mum has gone up to 29.4 compared to 29.3 in 2008 and 28.4 in 1999.
Obstetrician Professor Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran said: “It is cause for concern because older mothers can place an extra burden on services. They are more prone to high blood pressure, pre-eclampsia and diabetes. And they may require additional help at the birth. There also need to be scans and check-ups along the way.”
The professor, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, went on: “People chose to have children later for various reasons and we do not interfere with that. We are concerned with making sure they have the best possible care. If the numbers continue to rise we need to ensure we have the correct facilities.”
Overall, yesterday’s figures for live births in England and Wales showed a 0.3% drop – down from 708,711 in 2008 to 706,248 in 2009. It’s the first time the figure has gone down since 2001.
The fall was 2.3% for mums under 20, 1.6% for 20 to 24 year olds, 1.4% for those aged 25 to 29 and 0.4% for 30 to 34-year-olds
The proportion of births to mothers born outside the UK continued to go up, from 24.1% in 2008 to 24.7% in 2009. It has risen every year since 1990 when it was 12%.
Healthy babies who put on weight rapidly in their first year are at greater risk of obesity as adults, scientists believe. Teams at Cambridge and Bristol universities think the genes which help the babies to thrive in the first months also cause them to put on weight later in life. 26,976 Births to women over 40 in 2009, almost 30% higher than in 1989.
The number of women having abortions dropped by 3.2% last year. It is the second year in a row that the figure has gone down.
There were 189,100 terminations in 2009 in England and Wales compared with 195,296 in 2008.
Ann Furedi of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service said: “Figures tend to fluctuate year-on-year so we can’t call this a trend yet.” Girls aged 15 to 19 accounted for 39,020, while 911 were for 14-yearolds, 136 for under-14s.
The rate was highest for women aged 19 to 21 at 33 per 1,000.
Ms Furedi said they were also pleased that 2% more of all abortions took place before 10 weeks, which accounted for 75% of the total.