The number of babies born to women aged 45 and over has nearly trebled in the last decade in Britain, with just three in five women being in a marriage while delivering the child.

In 2010, as many as 1,758 babies -- around five a day -- were born to these older mothers in comparison to 663 children born in 2000, the Daily Mail reported.

For the first time, statistics show that the number of babies born to mothers over the age of 50 grew even more sharply: more than trebling from 44 to 141 born in this period.

Doctors are concerned by the surge in the number of older women giving birth.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has warned that those over the age of 40 are up to three times more likely to lose their baby than younger mothers.

Their babies also face a greater risk of ill-health or abnormalities such as Down's Syndrome.