Harvard School of Public Health
  • Quicklinks
    • About the School
    • Academics
    • Admissions
    • Research
    • Faculty
    • Student Life
    • News
    • Alumni
    • Frontiers
    • Make A Gift
Menu
Search
Bridging science and policy decision-making.
The Forum at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
Skip to content
  • We launched a new webpage. Find out more.
  • Past events
  • About

Delaying Pregnancy and Parenthood
The Risks and Rewards

Summary

In a new report, the National Center for Health Statistics at the CDC has confirmed that the average age at which American women deliver their first babies has increased in the last 40 years. The Center reports that there were more than nine times as many first births to women 35 years old or older in 2012 than there were four decades earlier. Juxtaposed to this trend is a decrease in the last decade in first birth rates for women younger than 30 years old. This Forum examined the societal and technological factors driving delayed pregnancy, including fertility treatments; delved into the health risks to older mothers and their babies; and explored both the risks and the benefits to older parenthood.

Join PRI’s The World Facebook chat on The Ninth Month.

Part of: Policy Controversies.

Presented in Collaboration with PRI's The World and WGBH

Background Articles

  • More Women Delaying First Pregnancy: CDC
    WebMD
  • First Births to Older Women Continue to Rise
    NCHS
  • Maternal and Child Health/Children, Youth, and Families Interdepartmental Concentration
    HSPH

Image Credit: ©iStockphoto.com/Rinelle

Share this:FacebookTwitterLinkedInReddit

Post navigation

← Preventing Deadly Distracted Driving Pesticides and Food →

Moderator

Carol Hills
Senior Producer and Reporter, PRI's The World

Expert Participants

Jeffrey Ecker
Director, Obstetrical Clinical Research and Quality Assurance, MGH

Marie McCormick
Professor of Maternal and Child Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Alison Earle
Visiting Scholar, The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University

I. Glenn Cohen
Co-Director, Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology & Bioethics, Harvard Law School

Event Resources

  • Download the MP3 Audio
Harvard School of Public Health
677 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
+1 (617) 495-1000
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • iTunes
  • Harvard Chan Home
  • Contact Us
  • Harvard University Home
  • Make a Gift
  • Privacy Policy
  • Report Copyright Violation
  • Accessibility
Copyright © 2023 The President and Fellows of Harvard College