Middle-age pregnancies on the rise

LONDON, Feb. 29 (UPI) -- A British report said record numbers of middle-age women are getting pregnant as fertility treatments make it easier for them to conceive.

Britain's Office of National Statistics reported a record 25,400 pregnancies in women age 40 or over in 2006, the Telegraph newspaper said Friday. Statistics showed more women in their late 30s are getting pregnant, up from 110,000 in 2005 to 115,000 in 2006.

"These statistics show how important it is to many people to be able to plan their families," Ann Furedi of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, told the newspaper. "Women are increasingly becoming mothers at an older age, when they feel their situation is right."

The report said one in 10 women between ages 40 and 42 will conceive through in-vitro fertilization.