Commenting on the number of births edging up after eight-year low in 2018, SMU Dean of Students and Professor of Sociology (Practice) Paulin Straughan said attention should be paid to the demographic profile of new mothers, especially if their age at first childbirth is increasing and that a delay in family formation translates to smaller family sizes. She added that "many may not fully appreciate how hard it is to conceive naturally when they start family planning later, and how painful it is emotionally and physically, when they have to rely on assisted reproductive technology to realise their parenthood aspirations."