The number of Pennsylvania women who are deciding to have babies in their 30s and 40s has increased significantly compared to 25 years ago, according to provisional CDC data, write Carly Mallenbaum and Mike D’Onofrio for Axios.

This has moved age 35 from the start of “geriatric pregnancy” to possibly a maternal-age sweet spot.

Today, the average age of a woman giving birth in Pennsylvania is 29.9 years.

Over the past quarter century, teen pregnancies plummeted from ten to three percent. The percentage of women giving birth between 20 and 24 went down from 21 percent to 15 percent, while the number of those giving birth between 25 and 29 dropped slightly from 29 percent to 27 percent.

Meanwhile, the number of women who are choosing to get pregnant between 30 and 34 has gone up from 26 percent to 33 percent in that same period. There are also more women giving birth between 35 and 39 (18 percent compared to 12 percent), and 40 and up (4 percent compared to 2 percent).

The pregnancy risk groups are defined in five-year intervals in new guidelines instead of a big advanced maternal age group.

Read more about why women are giving birth at a lower rate in Axios.

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