Birth rate of women in the U.S. 1950-2020, by age
For women in their forties, birth rates have remained comparatively lower than rates among the other age groups. The high figures in the 1950s and 1960s, can be attributed to the baby boom that followed the Second World War. In more recent decades, rising birth rates among older age groups is not only due to societal trends, but has also been aided by improvements in assisted reproductive technology (ART), such as in vitro fertilization (IVF). Such technologies have granted thousands of women the ability to conceive in circumstances where this would not have been possible in years past.