Things are changing and it’s probably not a surprise to hear that people are becoming parents later in their lives. Asking the generation before us when they had their first child and chances are, they were a good 5-years younger than you, at least. And that’s the trend going on right now for fertility, according to new reports.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health Center for Health Statistics published new data that shows the average age of new mothers has increases over the past 10 years. SO that’s even in women in our own generation who are now waiting to have their children later in life.

According to those statistics, new moms who live in rural areas are 1.3 years older than new moms 10 years ago. Women who live in suburban areas are 1.5 years older, and women who live in urban areas grew by 1.8 years before having their first child.

The data shows that the average age of a new mother in an urban area in 2017 was 27.7 years old; in Suburban areas moms were around 25.8 years old when their first baby was born; and moms in rural areas were around 24.5 years old when they became a mom.

What is probably not at all surprising, given the data above showing that moms are getting older, with that scientists are seeing a decline in fertility rates. This trend is true for all areas across the United States.

“Between 2007 and 2017, total fertility rates fell 12% in rural counties, 16% in suburban counties and 18% in large urban counties,” CNN reports. The data goes on to show that the total fertility rate was 1,950 for every 1,000 births for women in rural areas. For women in suburban areas, that number sat at 1,712.

"The differences in total fertility rates between rural and metro areas are consistent with previous research describing differences in childbearing behaviors," write the study authors on their findings.

There was a marked difference between fertility rates and races, although the numbers were consistent across all areas. The study shows that Hispanic women saw a decrease in fertility rates differently among rural (26%), suburban (29%), and urban areas (30%) between 2007 and 2017.