The Growing Trend of Parenthood After 40

Having children later in life is becoming more frequent, with births to women over 40 surpassing those to teenagers in the U.S. since 2023. Celebrities like Anne Hathaway, Sienna Miller, and Natalie Portman have contributed to normalizing this cultural shift by openly embracing pregnancies post-40.

In contrast, having children in middle age was less common in the ’90s and 2000s, when first-time mothers were typically younger. Zella Whitfield, now 24, knows this well; her parents were 47 when she was born in the early 2000s. Now, Whitfield’s mother is 72, a stark contrast to the average development of a 24-year-old.

Whitfield, a model and content creator from Cornwall, England, who now resides in Wales, was naturally conceived at 47, which is rare without IVF assistance. She shares that during her youth, the age difference between her parents and her friends’ parents wasn’t a significant factor.

I never really thought about the fact my parents were much older until I was a teenager.

Whitfield discusses through platforms like TikTok and Instagram how her story resonates due to its controversial nature. Many question the decision to have children at an older age. However, Whitfield praises her parents’ wisdom and life experiences.

She emphasizes the value of having older parents regardless of the challenges that age disparity brings, including spending less time with them.

The first bad one is the obvious one, that I get less time with them.

She acknowledges losing her father earlier in the year as a difficult but anticipated reality. Despite these challenges, the stability that came with having more established parents was beneficial.

However, Whitfield recalls feeling a disconnect during childhood due to generational gaps in understanding technology and social norms.

The world that I was living with, with the internet and later, social media, was not on their radar.

Additionally, she lacked the extended family experiences many peers had due to the age gap.

Beyond personal stories, statistics show the rise of motherhood past 40. U.S. mothers’ average age increased from 28.7 in 2016 to 29.6 in 2023, as reported by the National Library of Medicine. This trend is especially evident among women aged 40 to 49, where birth rates have risen by 24% between 2015 and 2024. Consequently, the percentage of U.S. births from women 40 and older has tripled since 1990, reaching 4.3% in 2025.

For Whitfield, these numbers echo her life experience and transform perceived disadvantages into a core aspect of her identity.