As fertility rates in the United States continue to plummet, more women are seeing the onset of perimenopause and menopause ahead of schedule. Evidence shows factors like exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals and certain medical treatments are helping drive this phenomenon, but the average age of women having children also plays a part.
Between 1990 and 2019, “fertility rates”—the number of live births per 1,000 women of childbearing age (between ages 15 and 44 years)—in U.S. women age 20 to 24 years old declined by 43 percent. However, fertility rates in women from ages 35 to 39 increased by roughly 67 percent during the same period, according to a report from the U.S. Census Bureau.
