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Myth: New Zealand women are now having their first child at age 30
The median age for women giving birth in 2005 was 30 years. That means that half of all women giving birth were younger than 30 years and half were aged over 30 years. This includes all live births regardless of the number of previous births.
This myth is busted
So, at what age are women having their first child? The median age of mothers giving birth to their first child is roughly 28 years, two years younger than for all women. It is also important to note that this is based on children of the current relationship.
About one-half of births are registered as first births. The median age of women giving birth to their second child is roughly 32
Where did the myth come from?
This could be a myth that may have arisen because Statistics New Zealand has been reluctant to publish data on age at first birth. There is interest in the age of first birth from health researchers and providers, media, businesses and the general public.
Information about births comes from the birth registration form. The form asks whether there are any other children of this relationship, because, for privacy reasons, it is deemed unacceptable to ask women about children outside their current relationship. Although children from previous relationships are probably included in some cases, this question does not produce a complete measure of all previous live births to a woman. The 'real' median might be slightly younger than that given above, but 28 years is probably a reasonable estimate of the upper limit.
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