KEY POINTS:
New Zealand is having a baby boom, and the birth rate is the highest in 35 years.
In the year to June, there were 61,610 births, up 3360 or 5.8 per cent on the previous year and the highest since 1972, when 64,510 babies were born, says Statistics New Zealand.
Women in some parts of the country are having trouble finding places in antenatal classes, and midwives are in short supply.
In Canterbury, hospitals this week reported full antenatal classes and waiting lists so long that some women in the later stages of pregnancy were being told not to bother applying.
In Wellington and Auckland, where the midwife shortage is critical, some women are being advised to seek out one as soon as they know they have conceived.
The baby boom will also have an effect on schools as the "bulge" moves through the education system.
The high birth rate has resulted in a natural population increase - the number of births over deaths - of 33,150, the highest since 1992.
While the birth rate may have almost matched that of 1972, the difference is that women are now having fewer children.
In 1972, women had an average of 3 births. Last year's average was 2.1 births, a figure that has changed little in 20 years.
Government Statistician Geoff Bascand said that other low-fertility countries, such as Australia, England, Sweden and France, had experienced slight rises in their fertility rates.
The latest statistics show fertility rates increased for all age groups.
Women aged 30 to 34 had the highest birth rate (127 per 1000 women), followed by those aged 25 to 29 (111 births per 1000 women).
The median age of those giving birth was just over 30, little changed since 2003.
A girl born today can expect to live 81.9 years, and a boy 77.9 years. The gap in life expectancy between the sexes continues to narrow from 6.4 years in 1975 to four years today.
- NZPA
