Friday, August 06, 2004
Babies bouncing back?
New Zealand has had a welcome turnaround over the last 12 months in the number of babies being born. According to Statistics NZ, 57,890 babies were born in the year to the end of June, a 5.4% increase on the previous 12 months. The overall fertility rate also took an upward turn, taking us back nearly to replacement level.
The major trend consolidated in these figures, is that women are having their babies much later than they once did. In the 1970s, the main childbearing group was women in their early 20s -- now it is women in their early 30s.
Statistics NZ does not hazard a guess at why the upturn this year (a response to the World Cup Rugby defeat, perhaps?? If you can't beat them, outbreed them.) The consolidation of delayed childbearing, though, seems to indicate that it might be more a blip on the horizon, rather than change in overall trends.
New Zealand has had a welcome turnaround over the last 12 months in the number of babies being born. According to Statistics NZ, 57,890 babies were born in the year to the end of June, a 5.4% increase on the previous 12 months. The overall fertility rate also took an upward turn, taking us back nearly to replacement level.
The major trend consolidated in these figures, is that women are having their babies much later than they once did. In the 1970s, the main childbearing group was women in their early 20s -- now it is women in their early 30s.
Statistics NZ does not hazard a guess at why the upturn this year (a response to the World Cup Rugby defeat, perhaps?? If you can't beat them, outbreed them.) The consolidation of delayed childbearing, though, seems to indicate that it might be more a blip on the horizon, rather than change in overall trends.
