One in five over 45 is childless

The proportion of women in their mid-40s who are childless is at a 45-year high, according to new figures.

Data from the Office for National Statistics shows that one in five women born in 1965 remained childless by the end of their childbearing years compared with one in nine women born in 1938 – their mothers' generation.

The figures also revealed that women born in the 1960s and 1970s have had fewer children by age 30 than previous generations.

The proportion of childless women is expected to start falling, to reach a low of 14 per cent for those born in 1980.