Late motherhood continues to be trendy

The average age of mothers at the birth of a child has risen steadily since the late 1970s: in 1980, the average age in Baden-Württemberg was 27 years, and last year it was 32 years. This trend towards “late motherhood” becomes even clearer when the proportion of births to women who have (still) given birth to a child at the age of at least 35 is taken into account: this proportion has increased since 2000 17% to almost 28%, according to the Baden-Württemberg State Statistical Office.

There are clear differences within the country in terms of the proportion of newborns from women aged 35 and over in all births: the proportion of later mothers in 2023 was highest in the urban districts of Stuttgart and Heidelberg, each at almost 35%, as well as in Freiburg im Breisgau with 34%. This share was cheapest in the Tuttlingen district. In this county, only about one in five children (22%) were born to a woman 35 years old or older.

Increase in late motherhood in Baden-Württemberg

The main reason for the trend towards later motherhood is seen in women’s increasing participation in the labor market and duration of training, which means that starting a family is being postponed until an increasingly older age. This trend is particularly associated with the pattern of family formation among highly qualified women. In fact, it turns out that there are a lot of academic women living there, and the mothers tend to be older when their children are born. The three urban districts of Stuttgart, Heidelberg and Freiburg im Breisgau, with the most late-term births, also have the highest proportion of female academics among the 44 urban and rural districts in Baden-Württemberg.

On the other hand, in most districts with a low proportion of “late mothers”, the proportion of women with an academic qualification who are subject to social insurance contributions is also below average. The regionally different proportion of births to foreign mothers out of all births plays only a minor role when considering later motherhood, although on average they are slightly younger than German women when their children are born.

Source: Baden-Württemberg State Statistical Office