One and done due to lack of time, energy, support

Educator and artist Hazel Lim has a 12-year-old daughter, Hanna. And she is one and done.

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For Ms Lim and her husband, German educator and artist Andreas Schlegel, who are both 49, the decision to have just one child was shaped by the lack of familial support in childcare.

She said: "The challenges of raising a child without much help was a very big consideration in not wanting another child. By the time Hanna was five or six, I was already in my 40s and I didn't have so much energy."

Increasingly, more couples like her are choosing to forgo having a second kid for reasons such as preferring to devote more time and resources to their only child.

Another factor is that couples are marrying and having children later, and facing fertility issues when they decide to start a family.

In 2024, 25.1 per cent of resident ever-married women aged between 40 and 49 have one child. This is up from the 16.6 per cent in 2004 and 21.6 per cent in 2014.

Ever-married refers to those who are currently married, divorced or widowed.

The largest group of women at the end of their child-bearing years still have two children, according to the latest data for 2024 that was released on Feb 18. This is followed by those with just one child.