2006-2007 Baby Boom?

I don't have all the evidence I need yet, but I've seen some articles recently that have set the ball rolling.

Evidence:
An overall view of Baby Booms at Wikipedia
Baby boom and rise in twin births in Australia in 2007
Baby boom in Australia in 1971
U.S. Teen Birth Rates up for first time in 14 years / Unmarried birth rates reach high

Does it seem like you've been seeing more babies born around you lately? In my own family there are two babies born within a month of each other. A co-worker had two miscarriages last year, and Internet friends and their siblings are all delivering babies left and right. I can count 10 family members and casual acquantances between the ages of 20 and 35 who have delivered a baby within the past 12 months, compared to maybe two or three in previous years.

The articles linked above seem to say this is the first large baby boom since the 1970s and not just in the U.S. That seems to make sense, as the people born during that time period are coming into their most fertile time of life, and also probably getting more stable with jobs, homes etc... Some of them are just saying 'Now or Never' and starting their families now, without waiting for security. With the ongoing war, economy downturning and this financial crisis ramping up, who can blame them?

Raising a family in hard times is difficult but not impossible. Family is one of those things that has staying power and reaps more genuine rewards than any other 'investment' you can make. You may lose your expensive home and new car to the bank, but your newborn baby just requires love, care and a healthy home environment to grow and thrive. I'm willing to bet more people are willing to make that family investment now that they've seen their fancy 200,000 houses and expensive cars haven't brought them happiness and aren't going to last.

However, how does this relate with the bigger picture? There are other trends affecting human fertility, beyond economic, that need to be studied. In general, we've seen a smaller increase in the animal population across our region. The harvests have been sparse, due to both early frost and drought. The cost of food, oil and services are going up, not down. People are losing their jobs, investments, retirement funds and banks are foreclosing on homes. There are less resources available and look as if there will be hard times ahead. Some say we are even heading into another depression, and this is the time to stock up on durable goods, valuable metals and to learn how to store food and emergency supplies for the future.

So why would the human population, even in a regional area, suddenly increase in the face of possible economic hardship? Quite a few people are saying the global population has been on the decrease for many years, but just as many warn we are going to overpopulate the Earth. This is why I state more research needs to be done.

But to any Joe Blow, there is an increase in babies happening here. It could be another echo from the original Baby Boom - their youngest children reaching their prime childearing years and oldest grandchildren reaching their first fertility? But I can count five of the ten babies I mentioned born unplanned to married families - which means there is more at work here than family planning.

Perhaps other cues in the environment are lending a hand in boosting human fertility? Better regulation of chemicals that once caused infertility? Some environmental factor in air, water, temperatures? A decrease in the use of birth control? In some studies birth control pills have been shown to make it harder to get pregnant after discontinuing long-term use (over 5 years).

It is true that we just had our first little girl in November of this year. Some of the above factors were true for us, and others have left us wondering about the choices of our contemporaries. Are we really starting to go through another baby boom? If harder times are ahead, will this be a good thing or a bad thing?