For decades statistics have reflected how women have preferred to delay having children until their thirties and forties, in order to establish the other areas of their lives such as advancing at work, building a relationship, buying a home and travelling. But the baby boom that began in Australia in 2002 has seen birth rates amongst women in the 20-24 and 25-29 age groups rise as well from 2006 and continuing into 2008, where the average age of first time mothers was 29, according to the New South Wales Mothers and Babies 2008 report is a strong indication that women are increasingly deciding to have children in their twenties.
“The baby boom gained momentum due to an increase in the propensity of women to have babies, many of whom were women moving into their thirties but I do think there is a segment of the female population that are having babies in their 20’s,” says social demographer Bernard Salt. “It is one of several trends underway at present, maybe merely because Gen Y women (women born between 1981 and the mid nineties) are quite comfortable having kids.”
There are no doubt a number of factors at play but perhaps most importantly is the awareness among younger women about the sudden decline in fertility after the age of 35. The number of women seeking assisted reproductive technology treatments rose annually by approximately 10%, in a survey undertaken by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare in 2010 and it’s common knowledge that older mothers are more likely to have difficult pregnancies, if they are able to get pregnant. For this reason a number of women in their twenties are rearranging their lives to prioritise having kids ahead of other goals, concerned that they might miss out if they wait too long.
“I have always had a fear of not being able to fall pregnant,” says Keira, 27, mum to one year old James. “My husband and I felt strongly that our twenties was the best time to be able to ‘keep up’ with our children, so they could enjoy the benefits of younger parents and grandparents, and so all of our kids would close together in age.”
Ashlea, 27, who had her baby almost a year ago, quickly embraced the idea of being a young mum when she found out she was unexpectedly pregnant. “Matt and I had only been a couple for 13 months and Jake was a complete surprise but once I came to terms with the fact that we were having a baby, I realised it was a blessing,” she says. “Seeing a friend who had been through IVF three times and having an extremely excited and supportive partner made the decision easy – we were going to be a family.”
While a better understanding of their own biological limitations is what convinces many Gen Y women to appreciate being able to have a child, regardless of whether it is planned or unplanned, for other Gen Y women (and men) it could be that they have already experienced so much by their twenties, that they see parenthood as a natural progression in their relationship.
“The age group most likely to have kids before getting married would be the 25-30 age group,” says Bernard. “And this may be because of women in this age group accidentally getting pregnant in long term relationships or just that women don’t see it as an issue to be married to have a baby.”
Elizabeth, now 26, had her first baby with her fiancé when she was 23 and believes it has been the best decision they’ve made as a couple. “Everything turned out so well with our first daughter Leah that Eva was born less than two years later,” she says. “We have changed our wedding date twice because we are so busy with the girls and still saving for it as well, but it will happen. We are better off financially now than we were before because we don’t waste our money like we used to because we want to make sure Leah and Eva have everything they need.”
But Bernard says what really defines Gen Y in comparison to the older generations is the belief that they don’t need to achieve goals in any conventional order. “Gen Y women don’t feel the need to prove themselves with a career before having children, which leads me to conclude that women really are making up their own minds about what is right for them,” he says.
Elizabeth, has been rotating between being a stay at home mum and working part time ever since she had Leah. “I’ve studied beauty therapy and worked several full time jobs since leaving school but never had my career completely mapped out,” she says. “This meant when Leah was born I wasn’t anxious about going back to work. Children grow up so quickly that it was more important to me not to miss out on anything – other things can wait.”
Similarly, Keira feels that because she has done several of the things she set out to do in her twenties, including living and working overseas, that she can now take a few years to focus on being a mum. “I believe the first years with your child are really important and I’m very grateful that I’m able to be a stay at home mum because our son will have a brother or sister by the end of the year,” she says. “I also decided after my son was a year old that I wanted to study again, so I am currently studying at university part time. Time management is very important for me to be able to fit in uni, looking after James and taking him to activities like playgroup and swimming but it is worth it.”
There are fewer stay at home mothers in Australian families, compared to women who return to work part time or full time, due to the need for them to help maintain financial stability for the household. This means a lot of the women who are stay at home mothers are quite likely to be making financial sacrifices to be able to stay at home to raise their children. And in the case of twenty-something women who do stay at home or work part time, they don’t see this time being detrimental to their future job prospects.
Furthermore, women are at the helm of a mass expansion of the self-employed and small business owning sectors in Australia, up to 600,000 in March 2011. This could be the influence of several issues that are often magnified by becoming a parent such as job dissatisfaction or general fatigue with corporate life but for Gen Y it seems to be that they like integrating their children into the other areas of their lives, whether it be personal activities, social events or work, and they actively seek out jobs and other avenues that provide them with the ability to do this.
For Sally Roberts and Emerald Leach, not only did they meet and become friends as a result of their pregnancies in their mid twenties, they also found a new opportunity came into their lives, and launched their children’s clothing line Dear Charlotte, Love Banjo in 2010 as a way to channel their love for the vintage-inspired clothing they adored dressing their babies in.
“Both Emerald and I had no idea of the actual demands of motherhood but in saying that we also had no idea how wonderful it would be too,” Sally says.”I was set to go back to working as a lawyer but found it hard – my entire perspective on life changed when Charlotte was born. Having our own business means when we are ready to expand it will expand with us and that we can take our work to the park if the weather is nice so the babies can play. We are passionate about it – so it is not something that has yet caused us to stop and reassess whether or not we are doing the right thing.”
This outlook that is shared by many Gen Y parents also explains why they feel comfortable with adding children into the mix with everything else they are juggling and planning for the future, and are less intimidated than older parents by the idea of travelling with kids in tow.
Sally Wiseman, brand leader for Escape Travel which specialises in family travel says, “The baby boomer generation often stayed home because noisy babies, toddlers and kids weren’t as acceptable in the public domain then as they are now. Many tourist destinations and accommodation providers offer a full service of kids clubs, babysitting and kids stay and eat packages, which makes it much more attractive for families who want to travel these days. Taking the kids to the US or Europe is more popular now too, compared to ten years ago, because of the affordability of airfares to get there.”
Sally and Emerald have had a lot of experience with travelling with their kids to Asia, L.A, New York and on lots of local trips to Yallingup and Rottnest Island in their home state of Western Australia, both for business and for fun, and are also planning a trip to Cologne in Germany later in the year. “Travelling with children can be hard work but when it is possible, we take our little ones because they are only babies for such a short time. And as our babies have become toddlers we have also realised that it can be heaps of fun,” Sally says.
Keira agrees. “My husband and I still plan on doing a lot of travel, we just make sure our destinations are child-friendly and safe, and for places that aren’t, we will visit them later when our children have grown up,” she says.
This kind of optimism from Gen Y mums and dads could be perceived as naivety. But the fact that women in their twenties don’t wait to feel completely physically, emotionally and financially prepared for having a baby suggests that they actually have quite realistic expectations, since being a parent is a major and unpredictable experience that at any age. Bernard believes even paid parental leave entitlements won’t be the deciding factor for Gen Y to have babies. “It will persuade some people to get across the line, and for others it will have no impact,” he says. “It’s a confidence thing.”
