The Office for National Statistics has revealed that women in England and Wales are having 1.9 children on average.

 

It may be a slight decrease, from the average of 2.2 last year, but it is believed to be the lowest level on record in recent years.

 

The main reason for the decline is due to the increase in the number of women who choose not to have children. It is believed that one-fifth of women in the United Kingdom do not have any children.

 

More and more women are also deciding to have children later in life. Many women have chosen to focus on their education and careers during their 20s and early 30s.

 

Times have changed drastically since our own mums started their families. The study revealed that these days women are having babies at a later age.

 

 

By the time a woman turns 30, she is likely to have had only one child, however, by the time our mums reached 30 they had an average of 1.8 children.

 

Emily Knipe of the Office for National Statistics shared that family sizes have been decreasing.

 

Their findings show that average size of families in the UK was at it’s highest in the 1930s, it has continued to fall since then.

 

It has been revealed that only one in every 10 mums has more than four children. During their mums’ generation, one in every eight mums had at least four children.

 

The Office for National Statistics also found that there is a growing number of women who do not want to have children.

 

"It's not just a biological factor of people leaving it too late. There is a growing body of evidence that suggests people are choosing not to have children,” said Emily Knipe.

 

 

Emily understands that starting a family is a huge commitment in many ways, especially in terms of finance.

 

She said, "It is completely understandable that more women are choosing to complete their education, develop their careers and get on the housing ladder before having children."

 

They also found that the number of teenage pregnancies in England and Wales has fallen. They have welcomed this information which found that only six percent of women have a baby before turning 20.

 

They stated that the number of young women having children now stands at the same level as women who were born during the 1920s.

 

Emily expressed her support, "What is vital is that we support women's choices to have children at the age that is right for them."

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