The number of births to older mothers has almost trebled in 20 years and is continuing to rise, figures have shown.
Some 26,976 babies were born to women aged 40 and over in 2009, compared with 9,336 in 1989 and 14,252 in 1999, figures for England and Wales show.
Among those aged 35 to 39 there were 114,288 births in 2009, a rise of 41% on the 81,281 in 1999.