Families Shrink as One in Five Women Childless at 45 Years of Age

Official figures show that about one in every five women born in 1964 is reaching their middle age without having any child. While only one in eight women born in 1937 was childless. These figures were obtained from the Office for National Statistics. The average family size has become smaller. This could be attributed to the number of childless women. The average family size for women born in 1964 is down to 1.9 children when compared with an average of 2.4 for those women born in 1937.

As compared to the yesteryears, women have made careers their first priority and have put their families second. Many have chosen to postpone their families or lose the opportunity to have children due to the pressures of careers, mortgages and rocky relationships. While some others have delayed having children as they cannot face the high costs or due to the uncertainty about the commitment of their live-in male partners.

The report also found that the average age for men to have children has gone up to 32.4 compared to 29.8 in 1979. Previous data has shown that on an average nowadays women give birth for the first time when they are 29.4 years old.

Source-Medindia