An ultrasound machine sits next to an exam table in an examination room at Whole Woman's Health of South Bend on June 19, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) The age at which American women are giving birth has shifted.Over the past three decades, birth rates have declined for women in their 20s and jumped for women in their late 30s and early 40s, according to a report from the U.S.
Census Bureau. In fact, the trend has pushed the median age of U.S. women giving birth from 27 to 30 — the highest on record.The report looked at data from 1990 to 2019 and found that fertility rates in the U.S.
declined in that time span. In 1990, there were about 71 births each year for every 1,000 women aged 15-44. By 2019, there were about 58 births per 1,000 women in the age group.
Overall, it was a drop from about 4.1 million to 3.7 million annual births. The decline is regarded as stable. The biggest decline in birth rates happened among younger women, while fertility in older women rose significantly.