Awwww, isn’t Simon Cowell a cute new father? Wait, how old is he …? Men can seemingly do it forever, but women having babies later in life isn’t just some new crazy celebrity idea – the average age has been increasing since the 1970s.
At the start of 1970 the average age for a new mother was 21, but that number increased to 25.1 (yes, the .1 is essential) by 2008.
In comparison, life expectancy in 1970 was 70.8 years. In 2008, this number jumped to 77.8 years. It’s easy to say, “meh, people live longer so there’s less rush.” Not so. 1992, which is equidistant between 1970 and 2014, actually saw highest age of new mothers: 27.8 years.
There are benefits to having a baby in your 20s. Your post-preggo body will bounce back far more quickly to its usual sexy self the younger you procreate. More importantly, having a baby in your twenties reduces the chance of genetic abnormalities, like Down Syndrome. A 25 year old preggo’s risk of having a child with Down Syndrome is only 1 in 1,3000, but a 35 year old’s risk is 1 in 365. Excuse our math, but that’s exponential!
That said, becoming parents later in life is a trend that doesn't seem to be slowing down – especially amongst celebrities. Take Simon Cowell of American Idol (yes we know he does X Factor now, we just don’t care), who dropped his douchebag demeanor and became a father at 54. Despite his best efforts, his much younger girlfriend/baby mama isn’t super young either: Lauren Silverman is 36.
Salma Hayek, who had her first at 41, is a huge proponent of having children later in life. She explained:
“It’s a little nerve-racking to wait that long, but it’s the best time...because you’ve done so many other things in your life. You just get it out of your system, and you can really relax into being a mother.... If you’re 23, you don’t know this because you think you have to do so many more things. But if you already did them, then you can really focus and enjoy every minute of it."
Is this some biological shift? Are celebrities just too busy and awesome to change diapers? Until I know for sure, I'm happy to spoil my friends' kids and give them back once the sugar-high tantrums kick-in.
Image: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Simon_Cowell_in_Decem...
