Taiwanese women who gave birth in 2018 were on average 32 years old, while 31.12 percent of women who gave birth in 2018 were 35 and older, the first time that figure has exceeded 30 percent, a report released on Monday by the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) showed.

Giving birth at a later age poses health risks to the mother and the baby, the HPA said, urging women to give birth between the ages of 25 and 30.

The number of newborns in Taiwan has decreased from about 210,000 in 2014 to 180,000 in 2018, down 30,000 in just five years, while the average age of first-time mothers rose to 30.9, Ministry of the Interior data showed.

Women aged 35 and older represented 23.03 percent of all women that gave birth six years ago, increasing in 2018 to 30.12 percent, it showed.

Taiwan Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology secretary-general Huang Min-chao (黃閔照) said that as a nation advances to a certain level, the education period of women is extended, and about 50 percent of women enter the workforce after graduation, inevitably delaying parenthood.

However, the population of women who give birth at 35 and older in Taiwan is growing faster than expected, Huang added.

HPA official Chen Li-chuan (陳麗娟) said that pregnancy at a later age comes with higher risks, such as infertility, miscarriage, premature birth, stillbirth, hypertension and diabetes, while children born to older mothers are at a higher risk of low birthweight, chromosomal abnormalities and other genetic disorders.

Mothers aged 35 and older in 2018 had an 11.65 percent chance of giving birth to newborns weighing less than 2.5kg and a 1.56 percent chance of stillbirth, while the figures for mothers aged 20 to 34 were 8.84 percent and 0.99 percent respectively, HPA data showed.

The government should step up efforts to promote a pregnancy-friendly workplace by offering tax breaks or other incentives to businesses that are willing to invest in helping their pregnant staff, or to set up childcare facilities, Huang said.

Medical expenses used to treat women who wait until they are 37 or 38 years old to become pregnant — when ovulation is already decreasing — could be saved if companies stop negative associations with pregnancy in the workplace, he said.

Pregnant women that are 35 and older should take advantage of subsidies offered by the government for regular pregnancy checkups and other healthcare resources, and keep closer tabs on their health during pregnancy, Chen said.

[Taipei Times, 2020-04-12]