Fertility rates for women under 30 ‘fall to lowest levels since 1938’ in England and Wales

Fertility rates for women under the age of 30 across England and Wales have fallen to a record low, according to new statistics.

The total fertility rate for the two countries fell from 1.7 children per woman in 2018 to 1.65 children per woman in 2019, one of the lowest ever, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

Those aged 40 and over were the only age group to see an increase in the fertility rate, with a rise to 16.5 births per 1,000 women.

For women under 30, the fertility rate in 2019 was the lowest since 1938 – the year that data began being recorded, the ONS said.

It added that Wales’s total fertility rate is the lowest since records began there in 1982, at 1.54 children per woman.

The total fertility rate is the average number of live children a mother would have while she is of childbearing age, if she experienced the typical fertility rate every year.

There were 88.3 live births per 1,000 women aged 25 to 29 in 2019 – down from 91.3 the previous year.

For those aged 20 to 24, there were 48.4 live births per 1,000 women in 2019, compared to 50.5 in 2018.

And the number of live births per 1,000 women aged under 20 fell from 11.9 in 2018 to 11.2 in 2019.

It has been suggested that possible reasons for the fall in rates could be access to better contraception, a fall in child mortality rates in under-fives and complications related to people waiting to conceive until later in life.

The average age of a mother at childbirth in 2019 was 30.7 years – a number which has slowly increased since 1973.

The number of live births in 2019 has also shown a decrease, with 640,370 across England and Wales.

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Areas with the highest fertility rates in England and Wales

1. Barking & Dagenham – 2.23
2. Slough – 2.23
3. Luton – 2.18
4. Peterborough – 2.13
5. Harrow – 2.12
6. Pendle – 2.10
7. Burnley – 2.08
8. Bradford – 2.08
9. Wellingborough – 2.06
10. Brent – 2.06

Areas with the lowest fertility rates in England and Wales

1. Camden – 1.05
2. Westminster – 1.06
3. Brighton & Hove – 1.12
4. Islington – 1.16
5. York – 1.21
6. Lambeth – 1.21
7. Wandsworth – 1.24
8. Exeter – 1.25
9. Tower Hamlets -1.26
10. Newcastle-under-Lyme – 1.31

Clare Murphy, from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), said: “In many ways these figures tell a story of success.

“The increasing age of motherhood is a reflection of improved gender parity, especially greater female participation in both higher education and the workplace.”

Financial pressures “weigh heavily on family planning decisions”, she added.

“The job market has never been more precarious, and we know the current crisis has hit women’s employment particularly hard.

“As a result, we may well see these trends continue into the future as women and couples choose to delay having children until they are financially stable.”

(c) Sky News 2020: Fertility rates for women under 30 ‘fall to lowest levels since 1938’ in England and Wales