The number of Irish women giving birth in their late thirties has surpassed those in their late twenties for the first time as mothers-to-be concentrate on their careers and leave raising a family until later than ever before.

New statistics from the Economic and Social Research Institute show that the average age for women giving birth has reached 31 and there are more women aged 40-44 having children than 19-year-olds.

The institute analysed data for the 61,725 babies born in Ireland in 2005 and found that two in five women giving birth were first time mothers.

Among those aged over 45, 36% were having their first child. This was a much higher proportion than those in the same age group having their second or subsequent child.

Christina Engel, a lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the National University of Ireland (NUI), Galway, said more women were putting off having children until their thirties as they concentrated on their careers and ensured they were financially stable.

“For many years mothers have continued to give birth right up until their forties, but now they’re having children for the first time in their late thirties and forties,” she said.

In 1999 there were 50% more babies born to women in the 25 to 29 age group than to those in the 34 to 39 age group. Within six years this gap has closed and for the first time there is a higher rate of childbirth in the late thirties age group than in the late twenties age group.

Morag Prunty, 44 the Irish author of Recipes for a Perfect Marriage, who uses the pen name Kate Kerrigan, had her only child when she was 37. She said she had not planned to leave motherhood until her late thirties but was too wrapped up in her career and too fussy about men. “I thought I had all the time in the world, until I was in my thirties. It was the whole Sex and the City thing. I wanted to be madly, madly in love,” she said.

Prunty said she would have loved to have more children, but while she and her husband are still trying, it is now more difficult to conceive. “There’s nothing negative about having a kid when you’re older but I do think women should be encouraged to have children when they’re younger,” she said.

“You’re told that having children changes your life, you’ll be up all night, you’ll have less money to spend on handbags and it’s all quite negative. Then I had a kid and I was a little sad that I hadn’t known how wonderful it was beforehand.”

Several studies have linked Down’s syndrome in babies to mothers in their late thirties and forties but Engel said that childbirth at an older age was not as negative as sometimes portrayed. “There are some risks such as hypertension, though it’s not a serious risk.

“From my own experience older women can give birth in the same way as younger women. Also, educated women are generally very aware of their health and their baby’s health.”

The average age for single women having children had jumped from 24.7 in 1999 to 26.6 in 2005. Breastfeeding has increased but 56% of women were still opting for bottles.

Home births have fallen in popularity. The number of planned home births has been in constant decline since the institute’s research began nine years ago — 245 were recorded in 2001, 202 in 2004 and 183 in 2005. Engel said fewer women were choosing to give birth at home because it was not promoted in Ireland and people were not aware of the option.

“The Health Service Executive (HSE) does not promote home births,” she said. “There’s animosity towards it from some HSE personnel because it’s seen as unsupported. There are not enough independent midwives to have more than one at a birth. There are fewer than 20 in the country.”

Hiring a midwife for a home birth costs between €3,000 and €4,000, including five pre-natal and five post-natal visits. The HSE allocates grants of €1,500.

Detailed analysis by the institute found that breastfeeding was most popular with mothers over the age of 30 and living in Dublin County. It was least popular with Donegal mothers.

Anne Fallon, also a lecturer at NUI Galway’s school of midwifery, said breastfeeding had proven benefits for babies including better oral and neurological development, easier digestion and a greater ability to fight infection. It also helped the mother to bond with her child and to return to her pre-pregnancy weight quickly.

Baby gap

The world’s oldest mother . . .

Omkari Panwar, 70, was as delighted as her 77-year-old husband when she gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, in India last month. They sold buffalos and land to pay for IVF treatment.

... And the youngest

Lina Medina is reported to have given birth at the age of five years, seven months, and 21 days in 1940. The baby boy was delivered by caesarean section.

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