Average age of first-time mothers is now 30 - how old were you?

26 for 1st DC, 29 for number 2. Managed to squeeze in a gap year, degree and career stable before hand. Glad I had them relatively early as feeling my age now and definitely would struggle with sleepless nights!

Ready to be judged, imagining those pants being hoiked right up.

16

Not married, still at school, living with parents. By the time DS was born I was living in a council flat with his dad. He didn't work either.

But I did breast feed DS.

It looks to me like perhaps they're saying "the average age of a mother giving birth is now 30. This increase is partly because of an increase in the age of first-time motherhood".
And we (and the newspapers) are interpreting this as "age at first-time motherhood is now 30".

But I've only skim-read TBH so please do correct me.

Oly, thank you for that link.

So - I am very happy to be corrected by anyone who knows better, but I'm not sure that those stats are talking about age for first time motherhood. And I think perhaps whoever wrote the newspaper articles didn't know how to interpret the ONS report either. It depends on the definition of phrases like "age of mother". Any ideas, anyone?

Not unusual in my family or our area although we did move whilst I was pregnant and its very much frowned upon here. I had DC2 when I was 26 and all the mums at groups etc are my age or older and having their first.

I was 23 when I had my first although I'm pretty sure that the average was about 27 a few years ago so I wasn't much under.

I had my last baby when I was 27. I wanted to have all my babies before 30 and I'm really glad I did.

27 and 31for second child.

32 (and DC2 at 35)

I remember being shocked at being called 'elderly'!

I didn't have a choice. DH and I weren't ready to marry when we met, and I didn't want to have children before we got married. Me turning 30 was the trigger point for DH to propose. We were out for dinner to celebrate my birthday and I raised the subject of my age/babies - and then he proposed. He always says I forced him into it!

34. I was 36 when I had my second, and I grumbled to my midwife that I supposed I was classed as an old mum given I was over 35, but she said that thigns have changed since those days. She said that she sees relatively few mums in their twenties - most are in their teens or in their thirties.

31 and glad I waited.

Clockwatching, you're right. Even the ONS don't make it clear! Argh! www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_371129.pdf

I was 19, had a full time job and mortgage and have no regrets.

I was 25 when I had my first. I've just had my second at 28. I always said to DH that I didn't want any more children after 30. I felt like a teenage mum when I had dd1 in London. Most of the mums I met at baby groups were late thirties early forties.

37 with first, 38 with 2nd and 41 with third.

I met dh at 27 and we started trying when I was 30, we started fertility treatment at 32 and then I had a molar pregnancy that became cancerous. By the time chemotherapy had finished and I was given the all clear to start again, I was 36.

We were very lucky to have 3 dcs in relatively quick succession, but I would have liked to have had them younger, especially as ds is disabled and I worry about being older as he grows up and is still dependent.

I was 29.

That was quite young among my group of friends. We had all been to university & had careers, and most of them waited until they were in their early 30s.

I wanted to get my family over & done with quickly, so I had another child at 30 and my last one at 33.

My mum was 28 when she had me in the mid-60s, and that was considered old!

25 but fortunate to have been with my OH since we were 17!

I was 23 and mid PhD when I had my first. Then had another two aged 25 and 27. So glad the way it worked out, was tough at the time though. They are 10, 8 and 5 and I am 34 so life is easy all of a sudden. Only one of my uni friends is married and none of them have children yet.

36 & 38.

My DC are still young. If my circumstances were different, I would had them 5 years earlier because I had better energy then.

29. I was one of the first of my friends to have children, and we live in an affluent area in the south east and I felt very young at the baby groups. But my mum had had 4 children by the same age, so in my head I felt quite old. Its been nicer 2nd time round (at 32 ) as I feel less obviously 'young' (ds has aged me a lot ) . I was married, had a house and a solid career by then so couldnt see any reason to wait.

Had my first at 35 and second at 37. May have a third! I spent my 20s travelling and going out and I'm glad I did. Panic set in aged 30 that I might never have children. Luckily I met a wonderful man aged 33 who was also keen for children. We're very happy and I feel lucky not to have 'missed the boat'

40 I just wasn't interested in having dcs any younger.

27. One of the youngest both amongst my old friends and New mum friends. Another year may have helped career wise but it has all worked out. Im glad we didn't wait as we had trouble conceiving DC2 but managed to have tests and intervention and still had DC2 just shy of 31.

(average age at first baby. Not of. Ouch.)

33. I would have liked children in my 20's but was missing an essential ingredient (man!). From what I've seen having children in your 30's is physically harder (I mean pregnancy and childbirth). However, I think I enjoy having young children more now than I would have done in my 20's, because of maturity (well, a little), and also because of having had more than enough time to travel and do all the other things that are more difficult with children.