Are more women delaying motherhood? episode artwork

EPISODE · Jan 23, 2026 · 22 MIN

Are more women delaying motherhood?

from Focus on Africa · host BBC World Service

Around the world, more women are choosing to delay motherhood. In countries like Italy, Spain and South Korea, the average age of first-time mothers has risen to around 32. While many African countries still have some of the youngest ages of first-time mothers - a shift is also happening in parts of continent. So, what’s behind this change?Focus on Africa: The Conversation host, Nkechi Ogbonna spoke with Vanessa Tloubatla, from South Africa, who became a mother at the age of 46; and Barbara Mugeni from Uganda who had her third child at the age of 45.Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna Producers: Carolyne Kiambo and Fana Negash Technical Producer: Maxwell Onyango Senior Producer: Priya Sippy Editors: Samuel Murunga and Maryam Abdalla

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jan 23, 2026

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Are more women delaying motherhood?

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