Why Women Are Having Babies Later And Why Work Makes It Harder

It's All Relative with Dr Eliza Filby · Oct 29, 2026 · 28m

Why are women having babies later, yet feeling more pressure than ever to get the timing right?We're seeing falling birth rates, later motherhood, and more conversations about IVF, egg freezing, and pregnancy after 35. But I think one of the biggest forces shaping modern fertility is the career ladder.

Women are spending longer in education, buying homes later and building careers during the very years when many also hope to start a family. Add the motherhood penalty, childcare costs, and the pressure to become financially independent, and our 30s have become one enormous scheduling…