Though it may be too soon to declare a new baby boom, an increase in the number of births in the United States has caught the attention of demographers and made the newest generation of Americans the largest in 45 years.

“Something is happening, and I’m not sure that anybody has a huge handle on what that is,” said Stephanie Bohon, an associate professor in the sociology department at the University of Tennessee. “I’m not sure it’s accurate to call it a boomlet. Maybe it’s a baby baby boom.”

With nearly 4.3 million babies born in the U.S. in 2006, births increased 3 percent in one year — the largest number of births since 1961 and the biggest single-year increase in births since 1989, according to a December report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Jaxson Lucas Rogers, born last week at Parkridge East, is one of the newest members of the growing generation. He joins sister Ava, 4, and brother Nicolas, 12.

“There’s just nothing more precious than a baby,” said Jill Rogers, smiling at her newborn son as her husband, Randy Rogers, stood at her bedside.

Marzi Radpour-Wiley, who is expecting her fourth child in a few weeks, said coming from a family of four children — and a close extended family — made her want to recreate that for her own children.

“Children bring life to a room,” said Dr. Radpour-Wiley, a clinical psychologist whose sons are 7, 5 and 3 years old. “When I picture our life years from now, our children coming home with their spouses and their kids, that’s a life, it’s full.”

Growing families

At Parkridge East, births have increased from 1,952 in 1999 to 2,227 in 2007. Teresa Walker, women’s services director at Parkridge East, said she suspects the threats of wartime and terrorism may inspire some families to expand.

“It’s just a time when families are pulling together more,” she said.

Dr. Bohon echoed that theory.

Staff Photo by Angela Lewis-- Nurses Cheryl Moser, left, and Jennifer Dobbs attend to newborn Tucker Shaver in the nursery at Parkridge East hospital on Wednesday as family members look on.

“I know that one of the explanations for the original baby boom in the ’50s and ’60s was there was a lot of uncertainty — a war, the Depression, another war,” she said. “People tended to turn inward and became more family focused.”

Michelle Shrum, nurse manager for single-room maternity care at Erlanger East, said she also suspects those forces are part of the birth trend.

“With the war in Iraq, with all the soldiers being over there and families being separated, I think that encourages them when they are home to make up for lost time,” she said.

As the number of births grew in 2006, the overall U.S. fertility rate increased 2 percent to 2.1 children per woman, making that year the first time since 1971 the U.S. fertility rate was above the level at which a generation replaces itself.

Growing immigration to the U.S. may be pushing the birth trend, but that does not mean higher birth numbers are limited to a single group, such as Hispanics, Dr. Bohon said.

“The majority of Latinos are not immigrants,” she said. “But immigrants tend to be young, and if you look at the South, the median age of the immigrant population is like 21 years old. Of course these people are going to have children.”

According to the CDC, every racial group saw an increase in birth rates in 2006.

Growing hospitals

At the downtown campus of Erlanger hospital, births increased from 2,602 in fiscal 2001 to 2,876 in fiscal 2007. And at the hospital’s East campus on Gunbarrel Road, the number of births in those years climbed from 1,691 to 1,925.

Last summer, the East facility added a second room for Caesarean sections and seven new labor and delivery rooms, bringing the total to 25.

“It’s big and getting bigger,” said Cynthia Rhodes, administrator for the campus.

Growth of the suburban area where many young families are settling largely is the reason for the demand, Ms. Rhodes said.

Donna Bourdon, vice president of T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital and Erlanger women’s services at the hospital’s downtown campus, said an increase in high-risk births also has driven demand for services at the hospital and prompted expansion of facilities to accommodate those cases from across the area.

“We are the high-risk perinatal center and neonatal center for the region,” she said.

According to the CDC report, the number of Caesarean deliveries in the U.S. reached a record high in 2006, accounting for 31 percent of all births. The rate of such deliveries has risen 50 percent in 10 years, according to the report.

About 70 percent of deliveries at Erlanger’s downtown campus are high risk, said Theresa McClure, director of women’s services. In 2005, the hospital added a high-risk wing and went from 14 beds to 23 in labor and delivery, she said.

In Athens, Tenn., Athens Regional Medical Center went from 317 births in 1996 to 451 in 2007, said Chris Reedy, marketing director. She attributed the growth in part to shifting population patterns.

“We have a lot of people moving here from out of state — from Florida and Michigan like you wouldn’t believe,” she said. “A lot of them are retirees, but their families follow.”

At Hamilton Medical Center in Dalton, Ga., births in fiscal 1997 numbered 2,242, while 2007 brought 2,528 new babies. And Hutcheson Medical Center in Fort Oglethorpe had a growth in births from 869 in 2002 to 985 in 2007.

“Demographers are pretty interested (in this trend),” Dr. Bohon said.

297,821,175: U.S. residents in 2006

1: percentage increase in population over 2005

Source: National Vital Statistics Report

BOXES

In Tennessee, the number of births statewide increased from 73,710 in 1996 to 84,345 in 2006.

In Georgia, the number of births increased from 113,986 in 1996 to 148,403 in 2006.

Source: States of Tennessee and Georgia/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

RISING BIRTH RATES

Birth rates* increased across every racial group in the U.S. from 2005 to 2006:

2005 2006

Non-Hispanic white: 58.3 59.5

Non-Hispanic black: 67.2 70.6

American Indian / Native Alaskan: 59.9 62.8

Asian: 66.6 67.2

Hispanic: 99.4 101.5

* Per 1,000 women

Source: National Vital Statistics Report

BY THE NUMBERS

4,265,996: Babies born in the U.S. in 2006

3: percentage increase in U.S. births over 2005

297,821,175: U.S. residents in 2006

1: percentage increase in population over 2005

Source: National Vital Statistics Report

Head: Birth rates booming