Uta’s son recently turned 18, and Uta has been reflecting on how young she was when she had him. “I can see now he is just a child,” she said. “When I had him, I thought I was a grown-up, but looking back I realise that I was just a child myself. I have never been an adult without being a mum. In a way, this means that I’ve never known any different. Being a mum is such a big part of my identity that I have no idea who I would be without having had him at 19.”

Even though Uta has no regrets about having her son as a teenager, she wouldn’t necessarily recommend others do the same.

“I think if I’d waited just a couple of years things would have been easier financially, and I would have enjoyed it more,” she said. “However, having a child so young motivated me to really make the most of things and gave me focus and drive. I do believe it’s one of the key things that led me to success.”

While there may be physiological advantages to having babies earlier, there may be other reasons to hold off until a bit later.

“Older parents tend to have more accumulated wisdom and greater levels of patience because they are under less financial pressure,” said Hallissey. “They may have more time to dedicate to childbearing as their careers are likely already established and are also likely to have greater emotional maturity than younger parents.”

Lucy Baker, a 47-year-old blogger, confidence coach and mum of three living in Lincolnshire, didn’t once consider having children in her 20s. She had finished her university degree, was working in London, travelling and having lots of fun. “I had partied, worked, enjoyed London and travelled the world – I feel so grateful that I was able to do all of this before I had my family,” she said. “I just wasn’t ready [to have kids]. I had no self-confidence in my 20s and 30s, and because of this, I wasn’t in tune with myself as a person. Looking back, I think motherhood would have been a big struggle for me and really was the very last thing on my list. I am pleased I waited until I was a little bit older to have my children.”

When we have our babies: women share their perspectives on the age to have children