Since having my oldest child, I've given this rhyme more thought. Let's look at the context of the rhyme. First, this is an old rhyme, dating back to at least 1794, when it was thought to first be published in English (though maybe as far back as the 10th century in French oral tradition) (1,2). Especially prior to the industrial revolution, many women tended to have children from shortly after they married and kept going as long as their bodies would hold out, or they managed to live to see menopause. So, yes, if she had many kids, especially given the infant mortality rate, the woman probably was old - at least for her time period.
But HOW old is old? Who knows? The best I can do is give you a few numbers about women and childbirth from the U.S. over the last 43 years, courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control, and use those as the basis for this and future topics.
The mean age of a first-time mother in the U.S. in 1970 was 21.4 years, but had risen to 25.8 years by 2012 (3,4). This was due, in part, to a lowering of the birthrate in girls ages 15-19 in the last several years, but also an increase in the number of women age 45 and older giving birth for the first-time.
So, maybe my first birth in 2000 at the age of 35 didn't make me so old after all. Would love to hear from some of you how old you were at the time you first gave birth.
Next time: "Are Those Your Grandchildren?"
1) "There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe," J. Riston, Gammer Gurton's Garland, England. 1794.
2) The Poetry Foundation. "There was an old woman who lived in a shoe," related content webpage: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/mother-goose. Last accessed January 27, 2014.
3) T.J. Mathews, and B.E. Hamilton, "Delayed Childbearing: More Women Are Having Their First Child Later in Life." NCHS Data Brief, No. 21, August 2009. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db21.pdf. Last accessed January 27, 2014.
4) J.A. Martin, B.E. Hamilton, M.J.K. Osterman, S.C. Curtin, and T.J. Mathews. Births: Final Data for 2012. National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 62, No. 9, p. 2. December 30, 2013. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr62/nvsr62_09.pdf. Last accessed January 27,2014.
The mean age of a first-time mother in the U.S. in 1970 was 21.4 years, but had risen to 25.8 years by 2012 (3,4). This was due, in part, to a lowering of the birthrate in girls ages 15-19 in the last several years, but also an increase in the number of women age 45 and older giving birth for the first-time.
So, maybe my first birth in 2000 at the age of 35 didn't make me so old after all. Would love to hear from some of you how old you were at the time you first gave birth.
Next time: "Are Those Your Grandchildren?"
1) "There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe," J. Riston, Gammer Gurton's Garland, England. 1794.
2) The Poetry Foundation. "There was an old woman who lived in a shoe," related content webpage: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/mother-goose. Last accessed January 27, 2014.
3) T.J. Mathews, and B.E. Hamilton, "Delayed Childbearing: More Women Are Having Their First Child Later in Life." NCHS Data Brief, No. 21, August 2009. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db21.pdf. Last accessed January 27, 2014.
4) J.A. Martin, B.E. Hamilton, M.J.K. Osterman, S.C. Curtin, and T.J. Mathews. Births: Final Data for 2012. National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 62, No. 9, p. 2. December 30, 2013. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr62/nvsr62_09.pdf. Last accessed January 27,2014.
