BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — For the first time in U.S. history, women over 40 are giving birth more often than teenage girls, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Local physicians say the milestone reflects major cultural and medical shifts, particularly as more women delay starting families and teenage pregnancies continue to decline.

“At my practice, I see patients all the time that come in at 41 or 42 and say, ‘I’m just now starting to think about childbearing,’” said Dr. Victoria Bourgeois, an OB-GYN at Baton Rouge General.

She explains that advances in contraception and greater access to family planning have played a key role.

“Accessibility to contraception has made it much easier for patients to postpone childbearing or to cho

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