A relaxing day at the beach or by the pool can sometimes result in unexpected health issues for women. The culprit is often a common habit: remaining in a wet swimsuit for extended periods. Moist fabric combined with warm summer temperatures creates ideal conditions for harmful microorganisms to thrive, increasing the risk of infections and inflammation.
Why Wet Swimwear Increases Infection Risks
Medical experts warn that prolonged exposure to damp swimwear frequently contributes to urinary tract infections, particularly cystitis. Due to anatomical characteristics, women are especially vulnerable to these conditions.
Local cooling of the body can further increase the risk by weakening natural protective mechanisms. Symptoms that require prompt medical attention include painful urination, frequent urges to urinate, and discomfort or pain in the lower abdomen.
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A Greek mother holding her baby. Credit: GR Archive
Greek women are having their first children later than ever. The average age of first-time mothers in Greece reached 31.2 years in 2024, according to new data from Eurostat. The figure places Greece well above the European Union average of 29.9 years and among the highest in the bloc.
That number marks a sharp climb over two decades. In 2001, the average age at which Greek women had their first child stood at 27.7 years. It crossed 30 for the first time in 2014. By 2021, it had surpassed 31. Since then, Greece’s first-time mothers have continued aging upward year by year.
The country’s standing in Europe reflects a broader pattern. Italy posted the highest first-birth age in the EU at 31.9 in 2024, followed by Luxembourg at 31.6 and Spain at 31.5.
Greece, at 31.2, sits alongside Ireland at the same level, within a cluster of countries where having a first child after 30 has become the standard.
First-time mothers in Greece having their firstborn at the age of 31
The age at all births, not just the first, has moved in the same direction. Greek women averaged 32.2 years at childbirth in 2024, up from 29.3 in 2001. Over those two decades, the average rose by nearly three years. The EU average for all births stood at 31.3 in 2024, placing Greece notably above it.
These numbers in Greece sit against a wider backdrop of declining fertility across Europe. The EU’s total fertility rate dropped to a record low of 1.34 live births per woman in 2024, down from 1.46 in 2022 and from 1.57 in 2008.
Eurostat notes that a rate of 2.1 is the level required to sustain a population without migration. A rate below 1.3 carries the label “lowest-low fertility.”
Greece remains among the EU countries yet to recover above that threshold, alongside Spain, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Finland, and Estonia.
EU fertility hits record low, Greece still below threshold
The broader birth count tells the same story. The EU recorded 3.55 million births in 2024, compared to 6.8 million at the peak in 1964. That figure has fallen by roughly half over six decades.
For Greece, the Eurostat data makes the direction clear. Women in the country are becoming mothers for the first time at a later age than at any point on record, and the gap between Greece and the EU average continues to widen.
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