New Delhi: The average age of becoming a mother has decreased in India. Looking at the pattern of the last 30 years, this thing has come to the fore. This has been revealed by comparing the data of the first National Family Health Survey (NFHS) in 1992-93 with the survey of (2019-21). Among the women surveyed in 2019-21, 11% were women who gave birth to their last child in the age group of 40 to 49 years. At the same time, 30 years ago, the number of such women was around 23 percent. That is, a decline has been recorded in it. The National Family Health Survey shows that where 35% of the women surveyed in 1992-93 gave birth to their last child by the age of 30. At the same time, in 2019-21, the number of women in this age group increased to 64 percent. That is, at the age of 30 she gave birth to her last child. The average age at birth declined by 5 years during the same period, from 33 years to 28 years. According to a study by researchers at the International Institute for Population Studies (IIPS), at the age of 40 There has been a decrease in the number of women giving birth to the last child. It is mentioned in the study that there is pressure from family members to have a child immediately after marriage. On the other hand, due to lack of information about contraceptive measures and family planning in uneducated women, the cases of pregnancy at a young age also increase.
During the NFHS-III (2004-05) survey, the mean age at the last child birth ranged from 26 years in Tamil Nadu to 33 years in Meghalaya, but in the next two surveys, the lowest in Andhra Pradesh (about 25) and Meghalaya. I had (over 30). It has also been revealed in the study that the women who became the mother of the last child were married 15 years ago.
Earlier data showed that during the 1970s the age of the mother at the time of first birth was lower. Most of these women became mothers at an early age. Also, the number of women between the ages of 39 and 42 who gave birth to their last child was high. As a result, there was a rapid increase in the fertility rate in the country. However, in recent years, most countries have seen a decrease in the number of young women giving birth. This has happened due to increase in the educational level of women and changes in the methods of family planning.