Owing to the fact that more and more women are now opting to become late mothers, there has been a recorded rise in the number of Down Syndrome cases. More and more down syndrome pregnancies are now being discovered, which has, in turn, resulted in an increased number of abortions of such pregnancies.

A recent study conducted in England and Wales has revealed that the number of women opting to have children in their 40s has almost doubled in nearly 10 years. In addition, New Zealand's Peter Stone, Professor of Maternal Fetal Medicine at the University of Auckland, has asserted that the median age at which women now prefer to have babies has increased in NZ as well, thereby implying that the country is also "likely to have the same issues".

As per figures confirmed by the International Clearing House for Birth Defects, in the year 2003, 63 of the babies born alive in NZ had been affected by Down Syndrome. There were, however, no reports with regards to stillbirths and terminations connected to the condition.

The last years studied for the sake of reporting births and terminations related to Down Syndrome were 1987-1991. Figures confirmed that incidence of the two rose as the age of women increased. While in women aged 30-34, the occurrence was 9.28 per 10,000 women, the numbers rose to 34.3 and 452 for women in age groups of 35-39 and 40-44, respectively.