Career first, baby later? Why more Singaporean women are giving birth in their 40s

At a time when fewer Singaporean women are having children, more of those in their 40s are bucking the trend.

In 2025, 9.6 babies were born per 1,000 women aged between 40 and 44, up from 8.9 babies in 2015 and 6.2 babies in 2005.

The increase in the age-specific fertility rate (ASFR) for women in this age group is also seen in those aged between 45 and 49 – 0.5 babies were born per 1,000 women in this age group in 2025, up from 0.4 babies in 2015 and 0.2 babies in 2005.

ASFR refers to the number of babies born to women in a specific age group per 1,000 women in that group.

In sharp contrast, the ASFR has been falling for younger women.

For those aged between 25 and 29, 38.3 babies were born per 1,000 women in 2025, down from 68.7 babies in 2015 and 80.7 babies in 2005.

For those aged between 30 and 34, 70 babies were born per 1,000 women in 2025, down from 98.5 in 2015 and 89.2 in 2005.

The data for 2025, which was released in late February, is preliminary, said a Department of Statistics spokesperson.

Professor Jean Yeung, director of social sciences at the A*STAR Institute for Human Development and Potential, said that over the past few decades, women have been delaying marriage and motherhood as they spend more time pursuing their education and interests, and establishing their careers.

The later age at which they marry and become parents has led to an increase in the ASFR for older women, while it has fallen for those in their 20s and 30s, said Prof Yeung, who is also a professor at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.

The median age of women who gave birth to their first child rose from 29.3 years in 2004 to 31.9 years in 2024, the latest figures available show. The figures are for babies born to at least one parent who is a Singaporean or permanent resident.

Dr Tan Poh Lin, senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), noted that the sharp fall in the number of babies born to women in their early 30s has a huge impact on birth rates, as these women are the core contributors to births here.

Singapore’s total fertility rate, which refers to the average number of babies each woman would have during her reproductive years, fell from 1.26 in 2005 to a record low of 0.87 in 2025.

Dr Kalpana Vignehsa, a senior research fellow at the IPS, said it is no longer a given that married couples will have children. And among those who want children, it is increasingly a deliberate and conditional decision, based on factors such as career stability and division of labour between the couple, before they have children.

She said: “So, even if a couple married young, it is increasingly likely that they will wait a longer period before deciding they feel ready to have a child.

“In this context, more couples are open to trying or actively trying to have children in their late 30s or early 40s.”

Ms Simran Toor, vice-president of Fertility Support SG, a non-profit group that organises support groups and events related to fertility issues, said that as more women marry in their mid-30s or later, they realise what their fertility challenges are only when they start trying for a child one or two years after tying the knot.

More women in 40s seeking IVF

Another factor behind the growing number of babies born to women in their 40s is the lifting of the age limit of 45 for in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) and other assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatments in 2020, fertility doctors say.

The Ministry of Health previously said that with the lifting of the age limit, there is now no “upper age limit” for women to try for a child through IVF here.

In 2020, the Government also extended co-funding to women aged 40 and older who undergo ART treatments at public hospitals, as long as they had tried ART or intra-uterine insemination procedures before they turned 40.

Dr Liu Shuling, director of the KKIVF Centre at the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, said the proportion of women aged 40 and older seeking treatment at the centre has almost doubled since the age limit was lifted.

Now, one in six patients is older than 40, up from about one in 12 patients before 2020.

Dr Suresh Nair, medical director of Seed of Life, Fertility and Women’s Care Medical Centre, said some women think they can focus on their careers first, as there is always IVF as a backup if they experience fertility woes. 

But he cautioned that IVF is not a magic pill to solve infertility, and the chances of having a child through IVF decline with age.

He added: “We can’t just blame the women. As men age, the quantity and quality of their sperm declines as well, though not as exponentially as (eggs).”

Every year since 2020, an average of 20 women aged 45 and older have had IVF at the KKIVF Centre, though none gave birth using their own eggs that were collected after they turned 45, Dr Liu said.

She added: “IVF is unlikely to achieve pregnancies in most women over 45 years old – the success rate (is) extremely low.”

Dr Tan Heng Hao, fertility specialist at Thomson Fertility Singapore (Novena), said his oldest patient was a woman who gave birth to her first child at the age of 47, using her own eggs collected when she was 46 years old.

The woman finally became a mother after multiple cycles of IVF, and despite a condition that makes it harder for an embryo to implant successfully in her womb, Dr Tan said.

Prof Yeung said it is imperative to raise awareness of fertility-related issues, as more women are having children at an older age.

“We should also provide more help in consultation, subsidies or special leave for early health screening and for assisted reproductive technology for couples who are interested in having babies but are having difficulties conceiving,” she said.

This article was originally published in The Straits Times.