The average age of first-time mothers in Taiwan was 31.65 last year, a sharp rise from the average age two decades ago, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said yesterday.
The average age at first birth for Taiwanese mothers rose by 4.26 years from the average of 27.39 years in 2004, the HPA said in a statement, citing Ministry of the Interior data.
More than 30 percent of births last year were “advanced maternal age” births in which the mother was 35 or older, the HPA said.
Photo courtesy of Kaohsiung Show Chwan Memorial Hospital
Among mothers bearing their second child, 37 percent were 35 or older, up 10 percentage points from 2014, the agency said, describing the changes as part of a broader societal trend of marrying later and delaying having children.
The HPA said that couples who are considering having children should do so at a suitable age, as procedures such as egg freezing and in vitro fertilization (IVF) risk complications.
For 36-year-old women, the successful implantation rate after one IVF cycle was 29.9 percent, while the live birth rate was 23.4 percent, the HPA said, citing government data from 2023.
For 44-year-old women the successful implantation rate was only 9.3 percent, while the live birth rate was 5.6 percent, it said.
“Freezing eggs cannot prevent the risks associated with advanced maternal age pregnancies,” such as higher rates of miscarriage, premature birth, birth defects and low birth weight, the agency said.
For mothers, such pregnancies can create a higher risk of gestational hypertension, pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes, it said.
Men over 40 have higher rates of chromosomal abnormalities and poor sperm quality, making it harder to conceive, it added.
Fathers aged 45 or older are also associated with higher rates of gestational diabetes in their partner, and higher rates of autism, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia in their children, it said.
For couples planning to have children, the ideal age is between 25 and 35 for women and before 40 for men, it said.
Under IVF subsidy rules that took effect on Nov. 1, recipients on their first IVF attempt for each pregnancy are eligible for a subsidy of up to NT$150,000 if they are younger than 39, and up to NT$130,000 for those aged 39 to 44, the HPA said.
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