What Is a Good Age to Have Kids?

Just one generation ago many people followed a similar path: get married, buy a house, have kids. 

But a lot has changed since then. More people are pursuing higher education, more women are in the workforce, and more people are passing on a mortgage early in adulthood. The path that many of our parents followed is simply not the reality today.

As part of this, our generation can enjoy feeling like we have more flexibility in deciding when it makes most sense to start a family. Of course, that also leaves us with the question, what is a good age to have kids?

Like most things, the answer isn’t so simple. There are so many factors that can influence when it makes sense to have kids, and those factors vary by person. We’ll explore these factors and take a look at the best age to get pregnant below.

The trend toward older ages

Before we get into the best age to have kids, it’s worth taking a look at how the landscape has changed over the years. 

The average age of a mom at her first birth in the U.S. has increased steadily over the last decade. In 2021, the average woman gave birth for the first time at 27.3 years old, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This was almost 2 years older than 2011, when the average mom was 25.6 at the birth of her first child, and almost 6 years older than in 1970, when the average age was 21.4 years. 

But the average age isn’t necessarily the best age. So what is the best age to get pregnant?

So, What Is The Best Age To Get Pregnant?

The bottom line is that the best time for someone to get pregnant is when they're physically, emotionally, mentally, and financially ready. Since the timing of these factors looks different for everyone, so does an ideal age to get pregnant.

Let’s take a look at some of these factors.

Career aspirations

It is becoming increasingly common to have specific career aspirations and to want to focus on working toward them in your 20s and early 30s. This might mean that you have a demanding job that requires long hours or extensive travel. It might also mean that you want to go back to school to earn another degree to advance your career. This typically means delaying having kids until you’ve reached certain milestones.

Personal goals

Maybe you want to accomplish or achieve other things before having kids, like moving to a new city, traveling the world, or running a marathon. Finding time to train for a race or jet off to a European vacation isn’t impossible with kids, it just requires more effort. So some people prefer to focus on certain life goals before shifting to a life with children.

Desired family size

The more kids you want to have, the longer it will take. Planning for three kids might mean that you want to start having kids a bit sooner than if you only want one. 

Financial goals

Sometimes people want to reach certain financial goals, like saving for a house or paying off student loans, before having kids. This can be wise, as there are many costs that come with having kids. Meeting certain financial milestones can take longer once kids are in the mix. 

It can also be helpful to work through estimates for things like labor and delivery costs, childcare costs, and everyday clothing and diapers, to make sure that they are financially feasible.

Health

The health of parents plays a large role in fertility and pregnancy outcomes. It can also influence the health of your future child. 

Because of this, some people may want to make some lifestyle changes to support their health. For example, if you’ve been stressed working 80 hour weeks and surviving on caffeine and processed food, you might set a goal to increase sleep, decrease caffeine consumption, and limit processed food. Others might aim to make small changes like switch personal care or cleaning products with less toxic options, exercise a bit more, or quit smoking.

Starting a preconception supplement routine is also wise before starting to try to conceive. This can help support your own health, as well as the health of your sperm or eggs.

Fertility

Fertility declines with age. The extent of decline varies by person, but some things are the same for all people. Specifically, women are born with all of the eggs that they’ll have, and the quality of those eggs declines over time. 

While men continue to produce sperm throughout their lifetimes, the quality of their sperm tends to decline with age.

Certain lifestyle choices and supplements can help to support egg and sperm health as you age, but in general, fertility does still decline with age. 

Pregnancy risks 

Pregnancy risks also vary by person and depend on several factors, including age.

Possible complications in a pregnant mother at 35+ include increased risk of spontaneous miscarriage, preterm labor, gestational diabetes mellitus, pre-eclampsia, stillbirth, chromosomal abnormalities, and cesarean delivery. 

However, these complications are possible at any age, and the extent of these risks at 35+ compared to pregnancy at younger ages is not fully understood. 

Possible adverse fetal outcomes in pregnancies at 35+ include increased risk of being small for gestational age (SGA) and intrauterine growth restrictions (IUGR), low Apgar score (a brief evaluation of an infant’s health just after birth), admission to neonatal intensive care units, and autism spectrum disorder. 

When pregnant at age 35 or older, women are considered “advanced maternal age” (AMA). This unfortunately-named label simply means that you may have additional appointments, tests, and ultrasounds. However, if you don’t have any other health-related risk factors, you may not have any special considerations at all. Many women have perfectly healthy pregnancies at age 35 and beyond.

Health is more important than age

It is true that your age may impact your fertility. But regardless of age, your overall health plays a huge role in fertility.

A healthy lifestyle, including eating healthy whole foods, moving regularly, not smoking, limiting alcohol and caffeine, and being mindful of environmental toxins can contribute significantly to fertility.