Deciding when to try to have a baby can be exciting and daunting! Pregnancy and childrearing are profound journeys, and the experience can vary significantly depending on the decade of your life in which it occurs. The transition from your 20s to your 30s brings about distinct differences in your fertility, health risks, lifestyle, and overall pregnancy experience. Understanding these variations can help you make informed decisions about family planning and determine the best age for you to have a baby. Here, we’ll delve into how pregnancy changes in your 20s vs. your 30s, exploring factors such as conception, health risks, financial impacts, and recovery.
Pregnancy in Your 20s
Many people think of their 20s as a time to be young, wild, and free, not wanting to be tied down by a family quite yet. But as I approached my mid- to late-20s, I started thinking about starting a family of my own and felt that “biological clock” begin to tick. Here are some factors to consider about pregnancy in your 20s:
Fertility and Conception
Pregnancy in your 20s is often characterized by high fertility and a generally lower risk of complications. Women in their 20s are more likely to have optimal egg quantity and quality.1 You’re born with all the eggs you’ll ever have, and with each menstrual cycle, you lose multiple eggs.1,2 The eggs that remain are more likely to have chromosomal abnormalities that can contribute to miscarriage and birth defects.2 Having plenty of high-quality eggs can make conception easier and quicker compared to later years. Your 20s are often considered the peak time for fertility, so many experts view it as the best age to have a baby from a biological standpoint.2
Health Risks and Complications
Health risks associated with pregnancy in your 20s are relatively lower for the mom and baby:
Maternal Health
In one study of labor and delivery outcomes based on maternal age, women aged 25-29 were the least likely to experience complications such as preterm delivery, high blood pressure, and preeclampsia when compared with women over 35.3 Women in their 20s are also less likely to develop gestational diabetes than those in their 30s.4 Your body tends to recover more swiftly from childbirth in your 20s with fewer long-term physical consequences. Mothers in their 20s also have shorter hospital stays after birth than those in their 30s.5
Health of the Baby
For those in their 20s, the chances of chromosomal abnormalities such as Down syndrome are also less compared to older age groups. The odds of conceiving a child with Down syndrome at age 25 is 1 in 1,250, whereas the likelihood at age 40 is 1 in 100. While pregnancy and fetal health complications can occur at any age, they’re less common in your 20s.6
Financial Considerations
Childbearing is expensive no matter when you decide to pursue it. From diapers to childcare to college tuition, it can cost nearly $235,000 to raise a child in the United States, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).11 Financially, having kids in your 20s may come with its own set of challenges as well as some benefits:
Pros
On the financial plus side, a younger couple with lower income may qualify for more tax benefits. They may also be able to save on childcare if their parents are local, young, and healthy enough to babysit.7 My parents and in-laws watch our daughters while I work, which allows us to save my earnings instead of writing those daycare checks!
Cons
Balancing the costs of raising a child with debt, career development, retirement savings, and other financial obligations can be demanding. Many women in their 20s are establishing their careers, getting settled into homes, and paying off student loans and credit card debt. This can leave little room for the expenses of a new baby. Additionally, if one parent decides to stay home, the other parent’s salary is likely lower than it would be a decade later in life to compensate for the stay-at-home parent’s lost wages.7,8
Lifestyle and Social Life
With less supervision from parents and more disposable income than in your teenage years, you can have an active social life in your 20s. It can be a time to splurge on yourself, build close friendships, develop hobbies, meet a life partner, and build your career.8 If you’re pregnant in your 20s while your friends aren’t yet, it can feel like you’re abandoning your old lifestyle and those friends by association. However, while it’s true that having a baby drastically changes your social life, it doesn’t have to ruin it. Your true friends will support your family and timeline even if it looks different from theirs. It may take more planning to schedule a night out with friends, but it can still be done.10
You’ll also make new mom friends! When I had babies in my 20s, I joined Baby-and-Me yoga classes, music classes, and preschool groups where I made friends with moms of all ages because our kids were the same age. Building new friendships with other moms can be very fulfilling, meaningful, and a great learning opportunity. They understand your current life stage, don’t mind if your baby tags along to social events, and can even teach you new life lessons.
Pregnancy in Your 30s
From physical aging to life experiences, your 30s can be quite different from your 20s. These changes extend to pregnancy and childrearing. So, how is pregnancy different in your 30s? Here are the major fertility, health, financial, and lifestyle considerations for pregnancy in this decade:
Fertility and Conception
While many women successfully conceive and have healthy pregnancies in their 30s, female fertility begins to decline in this decade. The decline is gradual, but it begins around age 32 and plummets more quickly at age 37.1 The quality and quantity of eggs decrease with age, which can make conception more challenging.9
Having kids in your 30s often involves a longer timeline for achieving pregnancy. Some couples may require assistance such as fertility treatments or in vitro fertilization (IVF). However, even IVF success declines with age, unless you use a younger egg donor instead of your own eggs.1 In addition to the decline in egg quantity and quality with age, other risk factors that affect fertility increase with age, such as endometriosis, uterine fibroids, and disease of the fallopian tubes.1
A woman’s likelihood of conceiving twins also increases with age. Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) — which tells the ovaries to ripen and release an egg — increases in your 30s, which may cause you to ovulate multiple eggs at once and conceive fraternal twins.14
Health Risks and Complications
The risks associated with pregnancy tend to be higher in your 30s vs. your 20s:6
Maternal Risks
Women in their 30s are at an increased risk for certain pregnancy complications, such as gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, miscarriage, cesarean delivery, and possibly postpartum hemorrhage.3,6,12,15 These risks necessitate more frequent prenatal care and monitoring to ensure both maternal and fetal health.6
Fetal Risks
Babies conceived by women in their 30s are more likely to have chromosomal abnormalities. For instance, the risk of having a child with Down syndrome increases with maternal age. Chromosomal abnormalities of the embryo may also contribute to miscarriage risk for pregnancy in your 30s.6 Babies born to mothers in their 30s are also more likely to be large for gestational age. This can cause birth injuries like shoulder dystocia and hypoglycemia.12,13
Recovery
Recovery from childbirth may be harder and take longer for mothers in their 30s vs. 20s. Older organisms — humans included! — need more time to recuperate after stressful events.5 Since mothers in their 30s are more likely to have a cesarean section, this may contribute to more difficult recovery and longer hospital stays post-birth.5,11
Financial and Lifestyle Considerations
By the time you reach your 30s, you’re more likely to have a higher, more stable income and less debt. Many individuals in their 30s have established careers, improved earning potential, and more financial resources to dedicate to raising a child. This can alleviate some of the stresses associated with parenting and provide a more stable environment for the child. However, there are both financial pros and cons to pregnancy and childrearing in your 30s vs. 20s. Let’s take a look at how having a baby can impact your finances and lifestyle in this age group:7
The Cost of a Baby
Financial stability is one of the potential advantages of having a baby in your 30s, especially when it comes to affording childcare. However, with more money saved and higher income, you’re less likely to qualify for federal assistance with daycare costs.7 First-time parents in their 30s are also less likely to have their own parents who are physically and mentally capable of assisting with free childcare.7
Staying at Home
If a parent decides to stay home and raise a child during their 30s, their partner is likely also older and making more money than they did in their 20s. Dropping down to one income is easier if the remaining income is higher. However, the stay-at-home parent often finds it more difficult to reenter the workforce later, particularly if the position they left was higher up in seniority.7
Affording Fertility Treatments
Women and couples in their 30s are more likely to have more financial resources than they did in their previous decade. However, they may have to shell out more money to conceive or maintain a pregnancy. The necessity for fertility treatments also increases with age. These can often cost tens of thousands of dollars, depending on insurance coverage.7
The Bottom Line
To make informed decisions about family planning, you must understand how pregnancy changes from your 20s vs. your 30s. Both age ranges come with unique benefits and challenges, impacting fertility, health risks, financial stability, and lifestyle adjustments. Ultimately, the decision of when to have children is deeply personal and influenced by a variety of factors, including individual health, career goals, and personal readiness.
Whether you’re pregnant in your 20s vs. 30s, each stage of life brings its own set of experiences and opportunities. By acknowledging these differences and preparing accordingly, you can enter parenthood with greater confidence.