Average age of childbearing inching up in county

Moms in Clark County are getting older and they’re having babies when they’re old. OK — wait — that may be the wrong way to begin this story.

Let’s try that again: The average age when local moms give birth is now 28.8, which is not old, but it is older than it used to be. And more women are having babies in their 30s. Being 30-something is, again, not old, but when it’s described as “advanced maternal age,” it can be construed that way.

“Moms are waiting until their careers are well-established,” said Linda Licata, director of women’s and children’s services at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center. “That is definitely a countrywide trend.”

There are a few things going on. Teen birthrates have declined dramatically, thanks to education and access to family planning services, Licata said. Back in 1995, more than 1 in 10 births involved a mother age 19 or younger. Nowadays, it’s much more likely that a mom is in her late 30s than her late teens.

Over the years, birth control has become more readily available, and long-acting birth control is promoted among young people who might have trouble remembering to take a pill at the same time every day, said Dr. William Herzig, a physician in obstetrics and gynecology at the Vancouver Clinic. He’s a strong advocate for having birth control continue to be completely covered by health insurance.

Women who wait until they have finished their education and have more resources may be better positioned to be mothers, Licata said.

“They are ready for that major step in their life,” she said.

Assistive reproductive technology, such as in vitro fertilization, is helping couples who previously weren’t able to have children.

For women, having a child at age 35 or older “sometimes has a negative connotation, and it really shouldn’t,” Licata said. While it’s true that high blood pressure, gestational diabetes and chromosomal abnormalities happen more frequently later in life, with the right medical care, those women can still have a successful pregnancy.

“We can manage it. We can help them,” Licata said. “Overall, I think that moms have an opportunity to be healthy as a result of all the services.”

It wasn’t until the early 1980s that the relationship between folic acid deficiencies and neural tube defects was recognized. Since then, there’s been a growing focus on the overall health of the mother. So, taking prenatal vitamins, eating a healthy diet, exercising, going to regular medical appointments and abstaining from drugs and alcohol are all wrapped into the precautions women take while pregnant.

While some risks associated with pregnancy increase among women in their 30s, the risks remain low, Herzig said.

“Twins are higher among women in their 30s,” he said, adding that triplets remain rare.