Spain Has Some Of The Oldest Moms, With More Than 10% Of Babies Born To Women 40 Or Over

Spain's mothers are among the oldest in Europe.Antonio Hugo Photo/Getty ImagesSpain has some of the oldest moms, with 11% of women having kids post-40, compared to 4% in the US.Financial insecurity and settling down later in life play a notable role.But Spain's accessible fertility treatments and excellent public healthcare are also factors.Monica Cruz-Lemini, a 46-year-old obstetrician living in Spain, had her first child at 44.While pregnancies after 35 are considered "advanced maternal age," Cruz-Lemini's experience is far from unusual in Spain, where more than 10% of all births involve mothers 40 or older."I think there's a growing pool of women in recent years — and I've seen it both professionally and personally — who are a bit like me," Cruz-Lemini told Business Insider.Spanish moms are among the oldestAccording to Eurostat's latest data, Spain had the second-highest average age of women at childbirth in Europe in 2022, at 32.6 years, as well as the second-oldest average age for first-time mothers, at 31.6 years.Spain also ranked second for the share of births to women aged 40 or older; 11% of live births in the country were to mothers in their fifth decade or beyond.In comparison, only about 4% of live births in the US were to women over 40, according to data from the US National Center for Health Statistics, compiled by nonprofit group March of Dimes.(Comprehensive global data isn't readily available, but Ireland came top in the most recent European stats.)Financial insecurityDelaying motherhood is a growing trend across Europe and beyond, not just in Spain.However, Juan García-Velasco, chief scientific officer for IVIRMA Global, which operates a network of fertility clinics, highlights "a combination of factors" that help explain Spain's particularly high ranking.One key factor, he said, is financial insecurity.Spain has the highest unemployment and youth unemployment rates in the EU, and García-Velasco said that this, combined with low wages and financial instability, leads many women to wait until they are more financially secure.Sarah Richards, a Barcelona-born mother of two who had her second child at 40, said that people want to be financially secure and own their own house before starting a family, "so that's going to happen a lot later here than it would in the UK, where salaries certainly are higher."Property prices in cities and coastal areas also make it harder for many to afford a home, with Spain having one of the highest average ages in Europe for young people leaving the family home — at just over 30."You can't buy there, and the rents are just out of control," Richards said.