U.S. Birthrate Highest in 45 Years

For the first time since 1971, the U.S. birthrate pushed past a crucial theshhold -- the level at which a given generation can replace itself. According to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control, women aged 15-44 delivered 4.3 healthy babies in 2006, a two percent increase and the highest birthrate in 45 years.

An Associated Press report said factors for the boomlet include a decline in contraceptive use, a drop in access to abortion, poor education and poverty.

But it also attributed the growth to population growth, especially among Hispanics, who as a group have higher fertility rates.

" We are the only people who respond to prosperity by saying, `Let's have another kid,'" said Nan Marie Astone, associate professor of population, family and reproductive health at Johns Hopkins University.