How many babies could a woman have?

Answer 1

Woman face more risks with every pregnancy. Up until the early 1900s, it was common for a husband and wife to have 10 to 15 children. A small percentage of couples had 20-21 children (which continues today). However, back then, many children died before age 5, so families could have lost up to 1/4 of live births.

Physically, it is possible for the body to conceive within months after one birth. However, it is best if a woman gives her body time to recover between pregnancies. So women, historically, have tried to time it so the previous child is around 2 years old before she got pregnant again.

Although a teenager can get pregnant and a woman could get pregnant in her mid-40s, the best childbearing years are in a 20 year span between 20 years old to 40 years old. (After age 35-40, there are more risks.) So if a woman timed her pregnancies so she had a baby every 2 years, and each pregnancy was full term and healthy, she could have around 10 children. If she had babies closer together, she could have 10 to 20.

Most women have 1 to 5 children from single births.

Note: (I'm not including twins or triplets in these estimates. I am counting pregnancies, not how many babies resulted from one pregnancy.