Fertility rates at lowest level in 82 years for women across most age groups — with average age of new mum rising to 30

FERTILITY rates are at a record low for women in most age groups.

Those 40 and over are the only group to see an increase — with a rise to 16.5 births per 1,000.

Overall in England and Wales, women are likely to have 1.65 children in their lifetime — the lowest since 1.84 in 1938.

Last year the mean age of a mum was 30.7, up from 26.4 in 1973, said the Office for National Statistics.

There were 640,370 live births in 2019, down 12.2 per cent on 2012.

David Corps, of the ONS, said: "The story of births in England and Wales in 2019 is one of decreases and record lows, with the total number of births continuing the fall we’ve seen in recent years.

“The total number of births continuing the fall we’ve seen in recent years,”

“Wales had the lowest fertility rate since our records began and England’s is nearing its record low.

“For stillbirths, the rate in England continued the decline seen in recent years, reaching a record low of 3.8 stillbirths per 1,000 total births in 2019.

“To achieve the government ambition to halve stillbirth rates in England by 2025, the rate must fall to 2.6 by that year.”

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